Nightwing: Arkham Knight
by Grayson947
Summary: With his surrogate father focusing on stopping Scarecrow and the newly appeared Arkham Knight, Nightwing ended up being captured by Penguin's thugs and seemingly consigned to his fate. Yet when all seems lost, an old flame comes to the former Robin's rescue: Starfire herself. With his longest love interest back at his side, it's up to Nightwing and Starfire to help save Gotham.
1. Chapter 1 - A Blast from the Past

Nightwing – Arkham Knight

 **DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING! ALL CHARACTERS BELONG TO DC COMICS. BATMAN - ARKHAMVERSE BELONGS TO DC ENTERTAINMENT, WB ENTERTAINMENT AND ROCKSTEADY GAMES. BATMAN BELONGS TO DC COMICS, BOB KANE AND BILL FINGER. NIGHTWING AND STARFIRE BELONG TO DC COMICS, MARV WOLFMAN AND GEORGE PEREZ.**

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Chapter 1 - A Blast from the Past

Nine months ago, Joker was cremated. Commissioner Gordon pressed the button and burnt the evil bastard himself, and then…he waited like so many others. Gotham braced herself for the inevitable power struggle that was likely to come, but it never came. For 9 long months, crime actually fell. Deep down, Gordon knew war was coming. He just was waiting for someone to pull the trigger.

On October 31st, that war began. Jonathan Crane, AKA the Scarecrow, threatened to turn Gotham into a toxic wasteland, to envelop it in a cloud of his latest fear toxin strain, all just to prove a point. That point was, as Crane put it, to prove that there was no savior, no more hope, no more Batman. However, the Dark Knight also had an old ally in this war, someone whose life would be very much changed because of it.

Dick Grayson, AKA Nightwing, had long ago left to establish himself in Blüdhaven, a neighboring city on the Gotham River. It was better than Gotham, in that it never rained all the time, and was pleasant. In reality, however it had her own share of troubles. For the most part, Nightwing had to deal with criminal gangs, drug lords and organized crime families, which was child's play in his book. However if crime fighting was going easy, his personal life was not.

Ever since he was Robin, Dick had an on and off relationship with Barbara Gordon, Commissioner Gordon's daughter. She once was the heroine known as Batgirl, but the Joker shot her in the spine, paralyzing her from the waist down, forcing her to be wheelchair bound and become the information broker known as Oracle. Dick's relationship with Barbara was not without ups and downs. When Dick moved to Blüdhaven, that was where the trouble began. Barbara had been seeing him less and less often. Dick wanted to find out why. One night in June, he found it. Tim Drake, the current Robin, had now been seeing Barbara for some time. When Dick found out about the fact that she chose Tim over himself, he was outraged. Immediately, Dick cut off all contact from Barbara and got rid of everything that was connected to her, except a diamond ring he was going to originally propose to her with.

As months passed, Dick started going on numerous dates with other women from Blüdhaven. Yet one of them, Lady Vic, nearly tried to kill him as Nightwing. So, Dick decided that dating would come to a halt for now. Now he had bigger problems on his plate. Oswald Cobblepot, AKA the Penguin, had been smuggling freezer trucks into Blüdhaven, packed to the brim with weapons to equip a small army with. Nightwing was intent on stopping it, and he knew the company's name, North Refrigeration, the company who ran the refrigeration trucks. For all of August and September, Nightwing had been tracking North Refrigeration's movements, and now, on Halloween, he was summoned back to Gotham by Batman. Bruce needed Intel on North Refrigeration, and Nightwing had exactly what he needed.

Together the two of them had taken down most of the weapons caches that Penguin stockpiled in Gotham…except the last one. In an attempt to stop Penguin once and for all, Dick had gone off to the final cache on his own, and now paid the price for it. He was captured and kidnapped by Penguin and his thugs. Now he was being held hostage in the basement of the Amertek Building in Otisburg. Tied to a chair, Nightwing grinned at the thugs who surrounded him. Dick had by now grown his hair out into a mullet again, as he did once in his tenure as Nightwing, so as to make himself look more intimidating, but it was obvious that didn't work given the situation he was in now.

"C'mon fellas," he told them, "That the best you got? I can keep this up all night!" Nightwing was known for his quips and puns that he often pulled as Robin. However now he used them to a lesser degree. That joke of his earned him a strike to the face with a small club. His long black hair went with the impact of his neck, but Nightwing once again braved it. "Seriously? That was your best hit?" He asked, "I mean, my grandma could hit harder than you when she was alive!" Now Dick was really pushing the thug in front of him.

"What the hell are you doing here anyway, bub?!" The thug asked, grinning as his colleagues surrounded him, "You ain't got no business in this city. Should've planned ahead better for this." The thug raised his baseball bat and grinned evilly, "Now say good night, bird freak!" As the bat lowered, Nightwing thought that his end would come. That he'd end up like Jason Todd, the only Robin who was ever killed.

'So this is it…the end…' He thought, closing his eyes and waiting for the hit to the skull. However before the final blow could ever be struck, a blinding green light burned the painting of Penguin on top of Batman that was placed behind Nightwing. It knocked back the thugs in front of their hostage and caused Nightwing to open his eyes again in surprise. Right in front of him was an orange skinned, red haired beauty in a purple monokini-like costume with thigh high boots, bracers and who was blessed with the body of a goddess, someone Dick hadn't imagined would come to save him in his wildest dreams. It was Starfire, Nightwing's old girlfriend and a founding member of the Teen Titans, and she was angry.

"Leave. Him. Alone!" She roared out at the thugs. Her eyes were glowing green with fury and vengeance, and her signature starbolts were on her hands and aimed at the thugs. She was very protective of Nightwing, as they had a history together since they were only both 15 years old.

Starfire was originally a princess from the planet Tamaran, and she was enslaved by a reptilian race of aliens called the Gordanians in exchange for peace. At the same time, Dick had finally gotten fed up with living in Batman's shadow and so decided to leave. He then met up with fellow sidekicks, Wonder Girl and Kid Flash, who were wanting to prove themselves as heroes as well, thus forming a team of their own. Making it to Jump City, on California's Pacific coast, they found Starfire, who had escaped her captors and crash-landed on Earth. After meeting up with three more heroic teens, Beast Boy, Cyborg and Raven, and with Robin having his first kiss stolen by Starfire, the seven heroes defeated the Gordanians and drove them away from Earth. Shortly thereafter they formed the Teen Titans.

Starfire and Robin developed a crush on each other but didn't know how to express it until after one mission in space. For a few years they were a happy couple, even when Dick put on the costume of Nightwing after quitting the role of Robin. However that relationship would suffer due to her marriage of state. Dick didn't know it however, but Starfire had her problems once he left for Earth.

She hated her husband, a general in Tamaran's armies, who was arrogant and boastful. He prided himself in combat, but was a pain in her butt. Every night, Starfire cried to herself, begging for Nightwing's forgiveness. Starfire's evil older sister, Blackfire soon came to rule Tamaran, and branded Starfire a traitor, annulling her marriage and banishing her. However that would be the last time Starfire saw her home again. Much like Earth had Superman, the planet Tamaran also had a protector. This brave warrior named Phy'zon used a weapon called the Sun-Eater on the planet, which was plagued by the weight of Blackfire's evil. The planet Tamaran was demolished, wiped from existence. Only Starfire managed to survive the destruction of Tamaran. Now she claimed Earth as her true home. She longed nothing more than to be with Nightwing, to start again. Here, tonight she had that chance.

Penguin's thugs were terrified. They thought Starfire was a monster or alien intent on killing them, and of course, they did the only sensible thing to do: they fled in panic. Some managed to escape via the elevator, but most of them weren't, and they were beaten to a bloody pulp at Starfire's hands. However, she knew better than to just kill them in cold blood. In the early days of the Teen Titans, she was reprimanded by both Robin and Wonder Girl for trying to kill the enemy, and that she had to hold back. Now she was putting it to good use and merely knocked out the thugs.

On that day, they learned not to cross with Nightwing again. Dick was speechless as he managed to loosen the knots that kept him bound to the chair, freeing himself. He thought that Batman would come save him, but he surely didn't think he'd see Starfire again, nor that she would save his life.

"Starfire…" he muttered in complete and utter surprise. It was very awkward for him, considering how their relationship had ended in that she was forced to marry someone she didn't love. However he wasn't seeing anyone anymore and neither was she still married. Starfire only turned around, with a cold emotionless look on her face, as if she was pissed about Nightwing leaving her. However that was replaced with a huge smile as she ran towards her old boyfriend.

"Robin!" She exclaimed happily, her breasts jiggling with each step she took. Starfire then held Nightwing tightly in her arms, pulling him into one of her bone-crushing hugs, giggling happily like there was no tomorrow. Of course, Nightwing was in serious pain given how strong Starfire was. Yet the Tamaranean Princess was so happy that her one true love was alive and well. "Oh thank X'hal! I am so glad that you are unharmed!" Starfire was now just so happy, she didn't realize she was crushing Nightwing.

"K-Kori…it's good to see you again…" Nightwing uttered out while trying to get air, "But it'd be a lot easier…if I can breathe!" Starfire instantly realized she was crushing Nightwing and eased up her embrace, allowing the former Robin to breathe. "Star, thanks for the save…" He said, smiling as he hugged her back, "I didn't expect to see you. What're you doing here in Gotham?"

"I have come because of you," Starfire explained, looking up into her love interest's eyes, "When I had heard that the Scarecrow had intended to envelop all of the city of Gotham within his toxin of fears, I was worried that I would lose you. I have missed you terribly, I could not cease to think of you during the day, nor could I sleep at night without the shedding of tears all the while begging that you would forgive me." Starfire's face showed concern and sadness as well as relief. Her words were indeed true, she came to Gotham only because of Dick, she still cared for him a lot. It touched Nightwing's heart to know that after all that happened, she still cared for him, maybe even still loved him. Memories of such happy times they spent as Teen Titans came rushing back into his head, and then it came back to the ring he originally planned for Barbara. But instead, he now wanted Starfire back in his life.

"Starfire…I'm touched," he said, smiling as he kissed her on the cheek, "Really, I am. Back when you got married on Tamaran, I thought that was it. That I'd never see you again. I was such a jerk for having left you. I just hope you'll forgive me for leaving you like that." Dick now felt it was his fault for not saying no, to prevent Starfire from marrying that general, but he had no choice.

"It is quite alright, Robin," she said, placing her hand on his cheek, "However, I will not get in the way of your relationship with Oracle. You are both in love now, but I hope that we may still be friends." Starfire had returned to Earth at the time Dick was still dating Barbara, so she wasn't aware of what recently happened between the two. However that was about to change, as the smirk on Nightwing's face proved otherwise.

"I'm not dating Barbara anymore," said Nightwing, revealing the truth. At this, Starfire's eyes went wide as she heard Nightwing speak, "Our relationship went downhill once I moved to Blüdhaven, she stopped coming less and less, until finally she forgot all about me and moved on with Tim Drake, the new Robin. But seeing you here coming to save me, it just makes me so happy." This was like a sign of hope for Nightwing, maybe it wasn't meant to be with Barbara, maybe that he could try again with Starfire, to give their relationship another shot. "Maybe what I'm trying to say is that…I'd like to get back together with you. Kori…I love you more than life itself." Nightwing then kissed Starfire deeply and passionately on the lips.

With that one kiss, Starfire's dreams of getting together with Nightwing would finally come true, she'd get her happily ever after, even if she had to suffer through so much to get it in the end. As she returned the kiss, tears of joy streamed down her cheeks as she ran her hands through her boyfriend's mullet.

"Robin…I love you too!" She sobbed happily before crying into his shoulder. Starfire couldn't believe her luck. The man she loved, her Robin, was back in her life!


	2. Chapter 2 - The Princess and the Acrobat

Nightwing – Arkham Knight

 **DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING! ALL CHARACTERS BELONG TO DC COMICS. BATMAN - ARKHAMVERSE BELONGS TO DC ENTERTAINMENT, WB ENTERTAINMENT AND ROCKSTEADY GAMES. BATMAN BELONGS TO DC COMICS, BOB KANE AND BILL FINGER. NIGHTWING AND STARFIRE BELONG TO DC COMICS, MARV WOLFMAN AND GEORGE PEREZ.**

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Chapter 2: The Princess and the Acrobat

It would be a lie to say that Nightwing wasn't enjoying this feeling he was currently experiencing. With Starfire in his arms and her massive breasts pressing into his muscular body, he remembered why he fell in love with her all those years ago. His face blushed pink as he felt a particular tightness between his thighs. Yet the two of them both knew that they had more important duties to fulfill, and Gotham was still in trouble, even though that they didn't want to stop.

"Ahem, we really should be getting back to the task at hand sweetie," said Nightwing, trying to recover from the haze his mind was in from those two pillows against his chest. He knew they'd be able to save the fun for when they were done.

"Oh! Of course," replied Starfire, blushing as she let go of her boyfriend, holding his hand tightly and looking into his eyes, "So, Robin, where shall we proceed from here?" Kori was well aware of the situation, but she didn't know where they should go from here on out, as there was more than just Scarecrow and the Arkham Knight to deal with. That was when Nightwing looked at the weapons cache in the safe and a devious grin appeared on his face. Starfire knew that look on her boyfriend's face, he had a very mischievous idea in mind.

"Well, there is an idea I had in mind…" Nightwing chuckled, "Penguin's been using freezer trucks to smuggle weapons into Bludhaven. Now, Batman and I found out that he's been stockpiling arms here in Gotham. So far we've managed to take down four of them. I thought I could go solo with destroying the fifth one, since that would lead us to Penguin, but…well, you know the rest. Anyway, think you could help out with this one, love? A well placed starbolt should do the job."

"That sounds most ingenious, Robin," said Starfire, giggling at the humor of this plan, "But I believe that we must first take these minions to relative safety so that they are not caught within the radius of the blast." Dick was genuinely impressed by the fact that Kori was now looking out for the safety of these thugs. In the past, when they were still Teen Titans, he had to scold her for using her full powers, as she seemed to try and kill their enemies. Yet as the years passed, she improved in holding her abilities back so that they'd neutralize, not kill. Though that wouldn't be the case if the enemy wasn't human, in which case she didn't have to hold back.

"Good thinking, honey," said Nightwing, smiling softly at her, "I'll contact Cash back at the GCPD, let him know that Penguin's goons need picking up near the old AmerTek building." Starfire, of course was more than capable of getting the thugs from the basement to one of the higher floors, where they'd be clear of the blast radius. Yet as soon as she got back, she heard Nightwing struggling with someone. Starfire hid behind a corner and saw Penguin holding Nightwing at gunpoint.

"Well now ain't this cozy," Penguin chuckled, "Bats better keep an eye on you, mate! You're a bit too reckless for my taste." Yet before he could pull the trigger, Nightwing was able to break himself out of Penguin's grasp, elbow him in the gut and then, seeing Starfire nearby, threw him towards her. Starfire immediately smiled, her eyes glowing green as she kneecapped him in the jaw, but just soft enough to knock him out, as her strength was ten times that of an average human's and twice that of Superman's.

"Y'know, I was just about to suggest that you do that," said Nightwing, as he handcuffed Penguin and dismantled the handgun. "Thanks for saving my butt again, Kori. Guess I was too preoccupied by the portrait Cobblepot put up there behind me that I let my guard down." Pushing Penguin to relative safety in the space of wall nearby so that he'd be relatively safe from the blast radius, Dick looked to Starfire and chuckled as he looked back at the weapons cache. "Care to do the honors, Star?" He asked, happily.

"I shall, with the utmost pleasure," replied Starfire, as she prepared her signature green starbolts at the ready, getting as high up as possible in the catwalks before firing at the cache, "I believe the saying is, 'There is a fire within the hole!'" She shouted and instantly she picked up Nightwing and flew as fast as she could up the elevator shaft as the weapons cache went up in a diabolical fireball. Luckily the two of them got out just in time and turned a corner to the rooftop as the blaze belched from the top of the shaft. The two Titans laughed so hard from the rush of adrenaline. They'd experienced hell on Earth with Trigon's invasion, but this was nothing compared to fighting an interdimensional demon who just so happened to be Raven's father.

"Holy hell!" Nightwing exclaimed, holding on tightly to Starfire. The thrill was certainly amazing, he couldn't deny that. Yet soon he looked out at the rainy night of Gotham's skyline and got up with Starfire, "So, shall we?" He asked her.

"I believe we shall," she replied, "Oh, and Robin? Happy Halloween," she said, kissing her boyfriend softly on the lips. Nightwing passionately returned the kiss and looked out over the skyscrapers.

"To you as well Starfire," he said, "C'mon, we've got a city to save." Nightwing held onto Starfire tightly and the two decided to make an assessment of the situation to decide where to start their hunt first.

"I believe I heard some form of ghastly music of the opera when I arrived into the city," she said, "Perhaps we should begin our search there?" Nightwing knew that since Star rarely came to Gotham when they were Titans, since the team rarely messed on Batman's turf, that it would be good to start out with an easy mission for her to build up experience before taking on whackos like Two-Face and Riddler.

"Sounds like a few of the victims Batman's already found," said Nightwing, pondering the situation, "They were all bloodily mutilated and dressed like deer, most of them had deformities and were mutilated across the country before being brought over to Gotham." Nightwing looked up at Starfire with a determined gaze on his face, "Suppose that's a plan. Could be a good opportunity to build up to taking on the psychopaths that I'm familiar with, love," and Nightwing knew what he was doing. Starfire was physically strong, yes, but he knew that if the two faced against one of Arkham Asylum's most notorious inmates, it would affect her mentally. So this was a way to build up to that in his eyes. "Let's go Star!" He shouted, and with that, the two Titans soared off deep into Gotham's night sky.


	3. Chapter 3 - To Catch a Serial Killer

Nightwing – Arkham Knight

 **DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING! ALL CHARACTERS BELONG TO DC COMICS. BATMAN - ARKHAMVERSE BELONGS TO DC ENTERTAINMENT, WB ENTERTAINMENT AND ROCKSTEADY GAMES. BATMAN BELONGS TO DC COMICS, BOB KANE AND BILL FINGER. NIGHTWING AND STARFIRE BELONG TO DC COMICS, MARV WOLFMAN AND GEORGE PEREZ.**

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Chapter 3: To Catch a Serial Killer...

Nightwing and Starfire eventually made their way to where they found the body she was talking about, near Perdition Bridge. Dick was just glad he was captured by Penguin's thugs right as an event happened near here. Hours earlier, Scarecrow's latest ally, the Arkham Knight, unleashed his latest fear toxin from this point with the aid of Simon Stagg's latest device, the Cloudburst. Dick knew a thing or two about Stagg though, as Stagg's daughter, Sapphire was dating one of the security guards, ex-army officer Rex Mason. Stagg didn't want anyone touching his daughter, so he used Rex as an experiment for Project Metamorpho: which was to be a new engineering factor in wars. Yet Batman and Nightwing put a stop to that, convincing Rex, who was now officially going by Metamorpho, to join the Justice League and use his powers to fight off evil.

"First thing's first though," Nightwing said as he patched into his communications, while giving Starfire an earpiece of her own, "Nightwing to Alfred, you there?" Dick asked. He wanted to make sure that his surrogate family wasn't worried about him. He knew that with Barbara captured, along with Catwoman, and Robin's whereabouts still unknown, Batman couldn't risk being concerned.

"My God!" Alfred said with a gasp, "Master Richard?! Is that truly you? We received word that you'd been captured by Penguin's thugs in the attempt to destroy that last weapons cache. Master Bruce was supposed to be on his way to rescue you…" The old English gentleman raised Dick like he was his own grandson, and Dick saw Alfred like a grandfather, ever since Bruce took him in after the deaths of his parents by Tony Zucco. Even when he left Gotham and began leading the Teen Titans, Dick still kept in touch with Alfred. So he was well aware of Dick's romance with Kori, and in fact actually approved of them, considering that Starfire was royalty, she would be a perfect fit for Dick in his opinion, as he came from a country that was still ruled technically by kings and queens for 2,000 years.

"Yep, no need to worry," said Nightwing, chuckling happily, "I had some help." Dick turned to Starfire with an eager smile, "Starfire came and saved me, and we took care of Penguin and his caches as well. Blüdhaven's officially safe." With those words, Alfred was truly astonished, relieved and extremely happy that not only was Dick safe, but that Starfire saved him as well.

"Oh thank God!" Alfred exclaimed, "And what of you and Lady Starfire?" Alfred always knew when to show respect to royalty, and Starfire was no exception. It was like when he officially approved of the marriage between Prince William and Kate Middleton. He even recorded the Royal Wedding and saved it to a DVD as well. When Dick was still Robin, and leading the Teen Titans, he told Alfred all about Starfire, and he was so astonished that the girl stole his first kiss, but was proud, in that he was becoming a man. He even offered advice for Dick on how to act like a gentleman, which helped to win over Starfire's heart, and was one of the reasons why Kori fell for Dick, because he treated her as a woman first, and she loved it. Normally most treated her as a warrior or as a princess, which was very superficial, but Dick only saw her as a beautiful girl and the girl he loved. So she was always clingy with him wherever they went.

"I am very well, Alfred," Starfire replied on the comm. Link, "And it certainly is wonderful to hear from you again!" Starfire only came to Gotham once when she and Dick attended Jason Todd's funeral. Dick was originally hoping for Bruce to meet her on less grim circumstances, but he figured they had to meet at some point. That was how she met Alfred, but she and Bruce already met once when Trigon first tried to invade Earth.

"All good news aside," said Nightwing, getting back to the reality of the situation, "I don't wanna be the bearer of bad news, but…Alfred, I can tell that you and Bruce found a few bodies tonight, yeah? Well, Star and I just found a fifth one near Perdition Bridge" Dick could see what the reports stated. The victims were dressed like deer, but they were wearing also complete latex and silicone female suits, kind of like female maskers and people with a rubber doll fetish. Yet it was obvious they were bandaged up and bloodied, and above this one was the word, "DEFECTIVE" in bright white paint, like for signs on a street. All the while, that ghastly opera music Starfire heard was playing in the background via loudspeakers.

"Oh dear," said Alfred, well aware of the situation, as he and Batman already found 4 victims across Gotham, all taken from across America, "Well, report what you find to me, and I'll see what I can find." Alfred was more than willing to look into this case. Bruce began it at the behest of the GCPD, and Dick and Kori would finish it.

Quickly, the two lovers got to work. Nightwing took a blood sample to analyze the cause of death and try and find out who this person was.

"Hmm, according to the blood analysis," he told Starfire, "The victim's cause of death was cardiac arrest combined with ventricular fibrillation, due to an overdose of painkillers. And from the looks of it, their fingerprints were burnt off with sulfuric acid." Nightwing wasn't happy about this at all. He couldn't get a clear lead on who the victims were if they didn't have any fingerprints on them at all.

"Then we are still not yet able to determine who this was, yes?" Starfire asked, concerned. She was hoping that they could solve this and find out whoever this murderer was, and that would mean all the more quicker for them to return home and enjoy each other's company and watch some cheesy zombie and vampire movies together.

"I'm afraid not, Star," he said, "The DNA's also been corrupted. How that's even possible is beyond me. If we're gonna find out who this person was, then we'll need to look for any marking deformities on the body. Either genetic mutations or ailments, or even artificial replacements of bones. Nightwing then used his deep tissue scanner built into his mask's detective vision, while Starfire scanned the body for any signs she could see of any damage on the skin or any deformities. Instantly, though, she found one on the thigh.

"Um, Robin?" She asked, "It seems that this wound is relatively fresh. It may have been inflicted when this poor person was still alive." Starfire looked closer and could see ink on the thigh as well, "It would also appear as if these abrasions of the layer of the epidermis are in relation to the quite crude removal of a tattoo." Nightwing was relatively impressed by the fact Starfire was able to tell that.

"Whoa, Star, that's amazing you could tell all that!" He stated, "And the Deep Tissue scanner's just confirmed what you saw." Dick knew that now that they were older, Starfire had become quite the detective, and she was so happy from his praise that she only blushed and hugged Dick lightly while he went to scan the next layer, while Kori saw only a light scar on the belly.

"Thank you Robin" she said happily, while looking at the body, "Though I have found another scar upon the body. It appears to be on her belly, and I cannot tell what it means." Starfire was a pretty good detective when it came to external wounds, but not ones that were already sealed up.

"Don't worry, sweetie," he said, "I got a reading on it. It looks like the victim underwent surgery to remove and donate one of their kidneys." Dick then went to scan for any bone injuries, and found one on the skull, "And I found a plate made of tantalum. Looks like it was used for a cranial fracture. Looks like it was probably due to a boxing accident."

"Robin, I have found another clue," Starfire stated, "It appears that from the callouses on her knuckles, she was quite an adept combatant." Again, Nightwing was impressed by how great a detective Starfire was becoming.

"Great job, honey!" He told her. Soon, a person came up in the National Missing Persons Database, and it was definitely female. Nightwing then opened up communications with Alfred once again, reporting what they found, "Alfred, we got a positive ID. The victim's name is Ella Montgomery."

"I have her biography, Master Richard," said Alfred, pulling up the results on the Batcomputer, "It appears that the kidney was donated to her twin sister who unfortunately died. That was most likely the catalyst for her boxing career, and hence the skull injury. She was last seen in Huntsville, Alabama."

"Perhaps the details of her disappearance match with the details of the corpses that Batman found earlier than Ella, yes?" Starfire asked, hoping that they could get to the bottom of this mystery once and for all.

"They do indeed, Lady Starfire," he replied, "Master Bruce personally requested to cross reference the parks and playing fields where the previous deceased went missing has paid off. I've found some leasing documentation, though it's obviously a forgery. Someone is trying to cover their tracks." When Dick was still Robin, and the Teen Titans were still learning about each other, he told the Titans his origin story, so Starfire knew early on that Bruce Wayne was Batman.

"Then find out anything you can, Alfred," said Nightwing, who was confused as to why the killer was doing this, "We couldn't have done anything to stop these deaths, but we can still save other people trapped in Gotham while there's still time. Nightwing out." Dick ended communications, but not then he and Starfire heard screams coming from the northwest, near the docks, about 20 miles away from their position. "Let's go Star!" He shouted, with a nod, Starfire picked up her boyfriend and flew with him towards their next destination. As they got closer, they heard that distinct opera music again, this time growing louder. Then Starfire noticed something.

"Um…Robin?" She asked, pointing to the lit area of wall with the words "REJECT" written nearby. "I believe we have found another body." Starfire of course was obviously disgusted by the fact that someone was doing this intentionally.

"Alright, Star, then let's get to work," said Nightwing, letting her cling onto him once they landed on the ground. Nightwing then used the deep tissue scanner, while Starfire looked for any visible deformities that she could see. The first one was one though that she found on the left thigh.

"There appears to be an odd pigmentation of her epidermis," she said, "I do not know what that might indicate though." Starfire may have been great at being observant as a detective, but in terms of being too detailed, she wasn't that great. This was where Nightwing took over.

"You're right Star," he told her, "Looks to me that this pigmentation indicates a chemical burn. It also looks like it's from most likely a chlorine based chemical. Nightwing then decided to scan for deformities within the muscles, and found something else of note, "Looks like she had a cancerous tumor removed from her throat, but the tracheal surgery resulted with the victim being fitted with an electrolarynx." Nightwing heard about these before, as they were given mostly to smoking victims, but sometimes those who worked in chemical factories got them as well.

"I have found something too," said Starfire as she looked to the right hand, "It would appear as if this person had a sixth finger on one of their hands." Kori heard of cases like these on Earth, but they were more common with aliens on other planets. The Gordanians, her captors, had 3 fingers with claws on each of their hands, which only added to their fearsome appearance. Yet Nightwing was well aware of these genetic mutations. He heard of other cases in which some people were born with vestigial tails. So this was a bit weird, but not as weird as hearing about other things in the news that were so disturbing and obscene that he didn't want to hear about them.

"Nice work, honey!" Nightwing exclaimed as a match soon came up in the database. "We got a match!" Immediately Nightwing contacted his surrogate grandfather once more to let him know. "Alfred, we got a match on the 6th victim. Yes, 6 victims tonight. Her name is Allison Wears." Dick hoped though that there wouldn't be any more victims to find after this one, and waited as Alfred read the information on her.

"Now I regret to inform you Master Richard," said Alfred, "But you may not like hearing about the details concerning her disappearance." Alfred always was looking out for all members of the Batman Family, even his surrogate grandchildren. Dick was the first, and while he was also the most reckless, he was also the more sensible, as years of leading the Teen Titans proved.

"I'm ready Alfred," said Nightwing, bracing himself for anything he might feel concerning this victim's death and disappearance, "Let's hear what happened to her." Starfire saw the look of determination in Nightwing's eyes, and giggled happily at that. She knew that look from when he was always ready to stop an enemy like Deathstroke, Brother Blood or even Trigon himself.

"Very well, then," said Alfred as he began, "She was an employee at ACE Chemicals. That explains some of her deformities and ailments. She was last seen at a retirement center in Bludhaven which is where she was reported missing. Their grounds are adjacent to a large park." Now Dick was feeling regretful that he couldn't save someone who was taken under his watch. He dropped the ball and he knew that he could've stopped this from happening.

"Cross-reference the information with the others," Nightwing said, solemnly, "Does it fit with the ones Bruce found?" Nightwing was now determined to bring whoever did this to justice. He was lighthearted and happy most of the time, but there were times where his wrath knew no bounds, especially when it concerned the death of a loved one. He nearly killed Joker after the death of Jason Todd, but Batman stopped him.

"It does indeed, Master Richard," Alfred replied, a glint of relief in his voice now that there was something to connect them all together, "Sending you and lady Starfire the information now." Dick and Kori looked over the information that Alfred presented them, and were equally astonished and dumbfounded.

"The Circus of Strange…" Nightwing muttered, as he never knew about this circus as a kid back during his Flying Grayson days.

"According to the information, the route of the circus passed through all of the locations where the disappearances also occurred," said Starfire, seeing her boyfriend too distressed over the fact that he could've stopped the last death from happening, "Alfred, you are able to find a name that is connected with this circus of strangeness, yes?" Over the past few years, Starfire was able to come into her own as a position of leadership with other groups of heroes. Years of working with Nightwing paid off with that.

"The Circus is managed by a rather suspicious and peculiar fellow named Lazlo Valentin," said Alfred, "It appears his obsession with all things perfect is the cause behind the murders." Starfire knew that they had to piece two and two together. She only placed a hand on Nightwing's shoulder and smiled at him.

"Yet we are not certain what business he would have here in the city," she replied, "Perhaps he has some form of personal connection with the city of Gotham?" Starfire's inquisitive nature also was what made her a very good detective, and what impressed Nightwing more often. The fact that she was able to pick up where he couldn't during times of emotional unease was amazing both for himself and Alfred.

"Well, you're quite right, Lady Starfire," replied the wily Englishman, "Mr. Valentin used to lease a beauty salon here in Gotham. However, the lease expired shortly before construction began on Wayne International Plaza." Instantly, Dick knew what Alfred was talking about, the old Pretty Doll's Parlor. It was a salon that used to be visited frequently, but closed down due to financial ruin in the recession and during the construction of Wayne Tower.

"Then send over the coordinates, Alfred," Nightwing replied, out of his funk and eager to stop him, "It's time Star and I end this once and for all." Starfire was now smiling back at Nightwing and giggled happily as he smiled right back at her.

"Be careful, both of you," Alfred warned them, "The man is clearly unhinged, even by Gotham standards." He didn't want to see his surrogate grandson ending up in the hands of this Valentin guy and ending up as a female masking rubber doll.

"Roger that, Alfred," said Nightwing, "We'll be careful not to end up like his victims. Nightwing out." Ending communications, Nightwing pressed a button on his utility belt and a jet black and blue car came roaring down. It had just the same mechanics as the Batmobile too. "Starfire, say hello to the Nightbird," he told his girlfriend, showing off his new car for her, "I use it whenever I deal with criminal transport and whatnot."

"Ooh!" Starfire only stated, impressed by how sleek it was and by how amazing it looked. Then another thought slipped into her mind, one that would be enjoyable for the both of them. "Then, perhaps when we are finished," she suggested, giving him a seductive and flirtatious look in her eyes, "Might we do the hanging out alone in the seats of the back?" Starfire then winked to Nightwing, suggesting that they could get up to some very hot fun when they were done saving Gotham.

"W-Well, I suppose we could," replied Nightwing, who was quite understandably excited about the suggestion, but knew that would need to wait for later, and that all could change with the events that would transpire tonight. "But anyway, we got a city to save." Nightwing opened the cockpit of the Nightbird and revealed a section in the front with two seats. One for the driver, obviously, the other for a passenger, while a passenger booth was in the back, and behind that was the PTV section, like a sleek version of a minivan. Nightwing hopped into the driver's seat, after Starfire flew into the passenger seat. The cockpit closed up, and after sharing a soft kiss before they buckled up their seatbelts, Nightwing and Starfire were going off into the night to stop Lazlo Valentin from killing anyone else once and for all.


	4. Chapter 4 - The Madness of Professor Pyg

Nightwing – Arkham Knight

 **DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING! ALL CHARACTERS BELONG TO DC COMICS. BATMAN - ARKHAMVERSE BELONGS TO DC ENTERTAINMENT, WB ENTERTAINMENT AND ROCKSTEADY GAMES. BATMAN BELONGS TO DC COMICS, BOB KANE AND BILL FINGER. NIGHTWING AND STARFIRE BELONG TO DC COMICS, MARV WOLFMAN AND GEORGE PEREZ.**

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Chapter 4: The Madness of Professor Pyg

Soon, Nightwing and Starfire managed to find the beauty salon where Valentin was holed up. It wasn't too far from where Allison Wears' body was in all honesty. The sign said, "Pretty Dolls' Parlor" in bright neon pink. The windows were closed up after the lease expired, defamed and vandalized with graffiti and it looked like there was a notice of condemnation on the door. The two Titans felt a sense of ominous and iminent horror coming from the salon. They were both nervous at what they were about to witness here, but they knew this had to be done. This feeling was something Dick hadn't felt ever since those times he faced the Joker. He remembered once that the Titans fought him when he was still Robin, when he and Harley held a pop singer hostage.

"Okay Star, you ready?" Nightwing asked, a bit of concern showing in his voice. He was worried that Starfire would flip out a bit at what they would see. He remembered once when the Titans were watching a horror movie marathon, she cowered and held him tightly, not wanting to open her eyes even when it was over. Though she matured since then and he knew it, just like he matured from being the immature pun-spewing and secretive ex-sidekick he was before. Still, he did enjoy it when she used to hide behind him in fear whenever something scary was on the TV, or if there was a dead rat that needed to be taken care of. Though now they were both fully fledged adults, and more mature than they were as teens.

"Do not despair, Robin," she replied, "I may be frightened by what we may find behind that door, but I am not as much of a child as I was before." This was Starfire's way of saying that she was a big girl now, but she still couldn't help but feel a twinge of nervousness inside of her. She didn't want Nightwing to be concerned about her during battle, even though she found it sweet. She could handle herself in a fight, even when it seemed the odds were stacked against her.

"Okay, if you say so," said Nightwing, parking the car and then he opened the cockpit for the two of them before leading the way into the beauty salon. It seemed all in all like a normal shop; untouched for a while but still in pristine condition. The walls were pink with a series of rotating chairs and mirrors facing them. Yet all throughout the salon was that horrible opera music. "Lets search everywhere," Nightwing suggested, "He can't be far, though, so stay alert." The two of them soon began to search for wherever Valentin could be hiding. Though it seemed only two places were obvious: the front receptionist area and the door which said "Authorized Personnel Only".

"Perhaps Mr. Valentin is hiding behind this door?" Starfire asked, pointing to the one which was off limits. She had a hunch, but she was going with her gut on this one. She only waited for Nightwing to follow up and after finding it unlocked, went inside. "Alfred was correct," said Starfire, getting the chills from seeing part of the wall being boarded up by planks of plywood, "Someone is indeed attempting to hide something. Perhaps we should pay Mr. Valentin a visit, yes?" Now she was serious about this, but still ab it frightened. She didn't know what to expect down there, but she had her boyfriend in case she wigged out. Nightwing only nodded and punched the boarded up wall to find a room full of female mannequins on bookshelves and a set of stairs leading down somewhere. From the top of the landing they could hear an even more horrendous tone deaf version of that opera singing, and it only made Starfire more nervous.

"It's okay honey," said Nightwing as he held his hand out for her, "I'm here for you no matter what." Though it made Starfire feel better a little bit, she was still shaking a bit. The two lovers made their way downstairs hoping to find at least where the awful singing was coming from. Soon though they found it. Upon reaching the bottom, Nightwing and Starfire only gasped in shock and horror. They weren't believing what they were seeing now. Valentin himself was in the middle of a giant operating theatre, cutting up someone with a butcher's knife and wearing a pig mask that left his mouth uncovered. The victim was a man, in boxer shorts and being carved up like a carcass but still alive. He was undergoing part of the transition in that a full female mask covered his head, and fake silicone breasts placed onto his pectorals. His genitals though were then cut off, causing him to scream out a muffled scream.

"Oh X'hal! I cannot watch this!" Starfire told Nightwing softly, turning away as she held her boyfriend tightly. She didn't know why anyone would mangle another in such a vicious manner. She understood a surgeon to do it as it was in their job description, but not a psychopath. She wasn't used to this type of mad obscene behavior that Dick was used to. Kori didn't have the full blown Gotham experience. The closest thing she got to experiencing that was when the Titans fought up against Brother Blood in his many attempts to gain immortality as well as summon Trigon to Earth to conquer it. Gotham's criminally insane were on a whole different level compared to Brother Blood and the foes the Titans faced.

"Please...Please make it stop," the victim cried out, as they were being cut up, "I-I can't take anymore!" Their voice was much more feminine, and it was hard to tell whether it was a man or a woman behind that mask anymore. Yet it was clear that Valentin wanted them to become female by any means necessary. The other ones that were already transformed were wearing purple dresses one would find on girls typically in a nightclub. Just then, Nightwing and Starfire heard Valentin let out an eerie squeal before hearing him speak.

"No, no, don't worry," he began, "Pyg make it all feel better. Pain is only the body's way of showing gratitude." Valentin then snorted like a pig did. It was pretty obvious that Alfred was right about the man being unhinged even by Gotham standards. If Dick didn't know any better, he was like a mix between Joker, Two-Face and Mad Hatter combined. Though he could also tell that Starfire didn't want that person on the table to suffer anymore. Pyg had to be stopped now.

"Let's go, Star," he said quietly, "We're putting an end to this madman's scheme's here and now." Starfire looked up at Nightwing and nodded, trying her best not to show fear in her eyes. This sicko really gave her a case of the creeps real badly and she wanted to see him punished for his terrible crimes against humanity, especially after the 6 people he killed earlier. She held Nightwing's hand tightly as they snuck down and made their way towards the entrance in front of Pyg. Professor Pyg was humming the tune to his ghastly opera when suddenly he saw Nightwing and Starfire in front of him as he looked up.

"You are finished here, Lazlo Valentin!" Starfire stated, her eyes glowing green with rage, and rightly so after she saw those two victims he killed, "You will release these innocent people immediately, or you will face my righteous fury!" Nightwing looked to see Starfire's intense glare at Pyg and couldn't help but admire her tenacity for going immediately into battle as was befitting of the warrior princess she was. The Warlords of Okaara taught her well not to show fear in battle. This caused Valentin only to let out a startled squeal.

"Oh no, no, no, no, no, no!" He told them, "Pyg not ready yet." He then motioned to the poor victim he was working on, all bloodied up and mutilated, lifting one of their arms up, "See? She's all very wrong. All messed up inside and out." Letting go, he gave a crazed look to the two Titans, "Pyg will make her...Perfect! Pyg will make all of us perfect!" Nightwing could definitely tell his hunch about Valentin was right, that he was clearly Joker level crazy.

"It's over," said the former Robin, "You're insane, and we're here to stop your sick schemes from going on any further!" Nightwing also felt a twinge of anger take over him as he wanted to avenge Allison Wears' death by this lunatic's hands. He wouldn't let anyone from Bludhaven die on his watch. He would make sure of that.

"Bad, bad...bad!" Valentin muttered with a squeal, "Pyg is like clay. Pyg is like God. Pyg is here to fix us all!" Clearly, this man had definite issues. Dick secretly hoped that when this was all over, Arkham Asylum would reopen and Pyg would be the first one they locked up. He and Starfire then went over to the poor victim, believing that they weren't too late to save the poor person. Yet as soon as they tried to feel for a pulse in their wrists and neck, the victim suddenly came alive and tried to grab them hard. Valentin then let out a squeal from behind the glass windows surrounding the circular tank, "That's it my darling!" He told it as it got up to face the two Titans, "Show them just how perfect you are! Pyg will make you invincible! Perfect and invulnerable! Dollotrons feel no pain!" The dollotron tried to surprise them with two blows to the head, but Starfire and Nightwing let out a dual knockout punch combo that seemingly put it down.

"I do not believe they were created to be adept fighters," said Starfire, now realizing that these creations were now Pyg's minions. Their real beef was with the madman himself. Now that they knew that these creatues, these dollotrons were only just his grunts, they didn't show mercy towards them, though they did want to help them after what Pyg did to them. Yet soon, the Dollotron got back onto its feet again, slowly.

"Rise up my precious!" Pyg sang out, "They cannot keep you down!" These things clearly weren't the average grunts but in a whole different league of their own. They were like the perfect soldiers: mindless, without personalities of their own, only a single elegant guiding intelligence: their creator's. In a way, they were similar to Brother Blood's occult followers, in that they were brainwashed to the point that they devoted themselves entirely to their master.

"What the hell?!" Nightwing asked, "It's as if they're immune to pain." Now this was serious. Nightwing was worried that if they didn't stop these Dollotrons, they'd end up like them. Worse, what if Pyg got his hands on Starfire? He had to make sure that they stayed themselves through the fight. "Starfire, we need to make sure they stay down," he told her, "Even though they may no longer be human, don't kill them, but just knock them out. We'll need to let the GCPD know about this." Starfire nodded, eager to let out her frustration and fear. Soon, though, more Dollotrons jumped off from the balcony towards the two Titans.

"Those bad people want to hurt daddy, darlings!" Pyg cried out, as they began to make their way towards Nightwing and Starfire. They also had limited speech patterns, from the sound of it, as all they could seemingly do was moan or scream. Nightwing soon saw why. Valentin blocked had the masks of these dollotrons equipped with special gags that were molded to the human mouth and jaws. They couldn't speak, only move their mouths open and shut. The way Valentin referred to himself as their 'daddy' gave both Nightwing and Starfire more creeps than ever. Even Mad Mod was more sane than this nutjob, and he even retired by now, gone onto being one of the top fashion designers in the world.

"Robin, I believe I have a plan to end this battle with haste!" Starfire told her boyfriend, as a dollotron came at her. Luckily, she was positioned right underneath a fan. As the dollotron rushed at her, she flew up, grabbed the fan, tearing it off of its hinges and then dropped it onto the dollotron, knocking it out instantly. Nightwing realized that though it might be what chance they have against them, electrical blasts were enough to stun these things.

"The voltage knocks them out!" Nightwing stated, "Way to go, Star! Now it's my turn to even things up!" He took out his twin escrima sticks from his shoulder holsters and activated them. The tips of them were electrified, and acted like mini stun batons, but they could generate a lethal force of up to 50,000 volts, if Dick was dealing with monsters like Clayface, who ultimately was permanently incapacitated and unable to get back together again after the incident in Arkham City. Dick figured though, that voltage could come in handy in case, by some off chance, Trigon returned to conquer the universe. The two Titans began to knock out dollotrons left and right, until finally, Valentin himself came crashing through the window with meat cleavers and butcher knives in his hands.

"Pyg coming for you, Birdie!" He sang to Nightwing, "Coming to make you...perfect!" As Valentin got behind the operating table and threw his knives at them both, Starfire blocked some of the weapons with her starbolts, while Nightwing combined his escrima sticks together into a telescopic bo-staff, like he used to have when he was still Robin. Starfire then threw the last meat cleaver Valentin threw right back at him, stunning him a bit, but not killing him. She knew better than that. Still more Dollotrons came down from the viewing balcony to attack them. "Destroy them, so daddy can rebuild them!" Valentin sang out again, recovering consciousness.

"Ugh! I really am getting tired of that singing of his!" Nightwing shouted, "Let's end this here and now, love!" Starfire couldn't help but nod as she and Nightwing went to town on the Dollotrons, knocking them out one by one, while ensuring that they weren't overwhelmed themselves. All the while they deflected Valentin's knives, knocking him out again, until they looked to each other and nodded before they rushed at Pyg with a dual knockout move. Starfire placed her hands on the table with a kick, while Nightwing got behind Valentin, picked him up and dropped him onto the table. The two Titans then punched him simultaneously, destroying his pig mask and causing the table beneath him to collapse underneath him, knocking him out.

"That was truly a most unpleasant experience," said Starfire holding Nightwing closely, "I do not wish to fight him again. Clearly he has given me a severe infestation of the creeps." Nightwing couldn't help but smile at his girlfriend. No matter how much more beautiful she blossomed into, Starfire still couldn't get past that language barrier of her's. Still, that was what he loved about her. The way she spoke was just so poetic and even though she messed up some terms, she made it sound cute.

"Don't worry, we won't," said Nightwing, "Though we may have another matter to worry about." He pointed up at the ceiling for her to look at. Starfire gazed up, and saw a series of cages with 5 people trapped inside them. They were obviously meant to be Valentin's next victims, but not anymore, thanks to the two of them. Starfire couldn't help but feel relieved, as did Nightwing, that they saved these people from Pyg's clutches.

"Thank God!" One of them shouted, "Hey, Titans! Thanks for the help!" It was obvious that one of them was a fan of the two of them, and followed them as well. Nightwing looked to Starfire with a nod, and went to the nearby fusebox. Starfire took off the cover, allowing Nightwing to get in and rewire the circutry. This type of hacking wasn't her strong suit, and she preferred to leave all that to Nightwing and Cyborg. The cages then came down and the doors opened. The victims were all relieved that they were safe and sound.

"You are all safe now," said Starfire, smiling to reassure them that it would be okay, "Please await the arrival of the police. They shall escort you to safety." Nightwing sent a signal to Aaron Cash, at GCPD's bunker, as he picked up Valentin, ready for transport back to the GCPD's containment cells. The dollotrons would need to be taken in as well, to be helped in any way possible. As they made their way up, back to the Nightbird, Starfire looked to Nightwing as he put Valentin in the PTV section of the car, and held him in her arms, "I hope that he will never venture beyond the cell of the prison. He is a monster not worthy of the company of humans."

"He'll face justice," said Nightwing, smiling at her, "Don't worry. When this is all over, we'll go back home to my apartment in Bludhaven...or maybe even Titans Tower." That last bit made Starfire's face light up with glee. Now that she was back in his life, Dick was beginning to seriously consider leading the Titans again, like in the old days. He kept up with one of them, Wally West, AKA the Flash, and the two often hung out sometimes for drinks as well. Starfire only hoped that Dick would definitely keep his promise and the look on her face showed. "C'mon, Star. Let's get this bozo back to GCPD," said Nightwing, kissing her cheek as he led her back towards the car.

"I will hold you to your word," she replied with a grin, referring to the mention of going back to Titans Tower. Then she got in the Nightbird with her boyfriend and left for the GCPD, with Valentin in tow. Their first battle together as a couple to regain control of Gotham was won. Yet the trials ahead were only going to get harder from here on out.

As the Nightbird sped away from the Pretty Doll's Parlor, Nightwing could hear the squad car that Officer Cash sent to pick up the civilians that Valentin captured on their way. Along the way, any common thugs that mistook the car for the Batmobile were in for quite the shock, literally. Like the Batmobile, Nightwing had the car outfitted with electro-shock shielding so that the lowlife scum couldn't trash the car. He also applied the same mechanics to the Wing Cycle, his more preferred mode of transportation.

"Wh-Where are you two taking me?" Valentin asked, as he snorted and came to his senses, "Pyg wants to go back to his Circus!" Though he put up one hell of a fight back below the beauty salon, Nightwing and Starfire came under the assumption that Valentin was in reality more like a child, than he was a sadistic killer who killed people for pure pleasure like Joker did when he was still alive. Dick still couldn't get over the anger he felt when the Clown Prince of Crime killed Jason in that explosion in Ethiopia.

"Unacceptable!" Starfire told Valentin, "We shall bring you to a place where you will never maim or harm any further innocent lives again. Robin and I will make certain of it!" Kori was personally glad that Pyg was going to be placed into custody where he belonged and got what he rightly deserved: life in prison, or in Arkham, if the renovations happened, and without possibility of parole. Starfire wasn't aware though about what happened at Arkham Asylum with Joker and his attempt to overrun Gotham with an army of a thousand Banes, or about Arkham City.

"What? Pyg doesn't hurt at all," said Valentin, trying to explain his twisted and sick intentions, "Pyg fixes people, Pyg heals them. My Dollotrons, my darling girls are works of art." Only Valentin himself knew what his intentions were with the dollotrons. As a child, he'd been berated by his parents that he wasn't good enough to make them happy in whatever he did. As a young man, Valentin became a gifted scientist, but suffered from a schizophrenic breakdown. He then came to believe that people had to have their uniqueness isolated and destroyed if they were to be so perfect in his eyes, all stemming from his parents' constant berating of him when he was only a boy. Yet it was his mother who really affected him the most, and as a result Valentin called her 'Mother Goat'.

"You mean the men and women you kidnapped and mutilated?" Nightwing asked, seriousness in his voice, "They're forced to live a fate worse than death thanks to you. Tell the police all that you did to them so that they can help them get back to some sense of normalcy." Dick knew from his time with the Teen Titans what that could do to people, as he saw firsthand with the People of Azarath, who cut themselves off from humanity to achieve enlightenment. While a seemingly Buddhist ideal, their malevolent thoughts only made them go insane, and from their evil thoughts they gave birth to a demon: Trigon. Dick didn't want to see another Trigon brought forth into the world, another monster born from seemingly naive intentions.

"No, not death," protested Valentin, "Pyg makes life truly worth living!" Clearly Valentin seemed to want to play God, by creating new life. Nightwing and Starfire knew that only nothing good could come of that, as they saw what Trigon was capable of, and Dick himself saw with Bruce how insane men who tried to play such roles were were, men like Maxie Zeus and Ra's Al-Ghul, who only sought perfection in society.

"And what of those poor innocents you slaughtered?" Starfire asked, trying to figure out why he killed them, when he made those others into his own minions capable of great feats of strength and obeying his every command and will. Even Nightwing was curious as to how Valentin brainwashed them and bent them to his will and his will alone.

"They were too broken for Pyg to make better..." Valentin explained with a snort, "They were too imperfect, oh no. They made Mother angry, and made Pyg feel sick, very, very sick." It was clear now that Valentin had some serious mother issues. Even though she was dead, his mother's words haunted him from beyond the grave. He even was haunted by hallucinations of her when she wasn't alive anymore, so much so to the point where he even constructed a crudely built iron maiden that he had a female mannequin head fastened to and nails shoved into it, calling it his 'Mother of Nails' as a macabre tribute to her.

"Funny thing about those things you couldn't change though," said Nightwing, as he finally made his way to a slow as the GCPD Precinct came in sight, "That's how Starfire, Batman and I were able to locate the bodies. It's the reason how we were able to find you, and it's why in the end you failed." At those words, Valentin only began to gag and dry heave in an attempt to show Nightwing and Starfire how sick he really was. By then, they already arrived at the parking garage that led to the holding cells. "You've got some serious issues, Valentin," Nightwing muttered as he rolled his eyes underneath his mask. Then he looked to Starfire and nodded, "You ready?"

"I am always eager and prepared for battle, my love," said Starfire with a confident grin on her face. Two GCPD officers were waiting at the entrance to the precinct when they saw Nightwing and Starfire getting out of the Nightbird. They were both amazed and jealous. Amazed because those two were back together, and jealous of Nightwing for having such a sexy girlfriend who was completely devoted to him and yet still kicked ass. As they brought Valentin out to the guards, they only could hear his tone deaf opera singing from behind closed doors.

"Nice work, both of you," said one of the guards,"Y'know, Nightwing, you missed Batman a while back. Locked up the chief of Fire Station 17 after he dabbled with our resident arsonist." Nightwing instantly knew who they were talking about. Garfield Lynns, AKA Firefly. He hadn't been seen in Gotham for a decade. While he was still Robin, Dick knew all about the attack on Pioneer's Bridge, and Firefly did on occasion attack the Justice League as an occasional foe.

"Good thing then, he's not the only one who can fly now," said Nightwing, humoringly, but now aware of what he and Starfire had to do next, "Thanks officer. We'll take it from here." Luckily, Starfire heard all that she did, and was made aware of the situation. She understood what needed to be done, and it sounded like to her this criminal could fly somehow. It was the perfect type for her to fight, as she could keep up with him, and from his use of fire, he sounded like an almost perfect foe, as her starbolts were also able to cause heat and destroy with fire. Though she also used them for beneficial purposes like cauterizing wounds if anyone was losing a lot of blood. "C'mon Star!" Nightwing said happily, "We got an arsonist to stop!"

"I am eager to face this man who names himself after the fly of the fire," Starfire replied, clinging onto Nightwing's arm, as she got back into the Nightbird with her boyfriend and they zoomed off into the night once more.


	5. Chapter 5: Gotham's Inferno!

Nightwing – Arkham Knight

 **DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING! ALL CHARACTERS BELONG TO DC COMICS. BATMAN - ARKHAMVERSE BELONGS TO DC ENTERTAINMENT, WB ENTERTAINMENT AND ROCKSTEADY GAMES. BATMAN BELONGS TO DC COMICS, BOB KANE AND BILL FINGER. NIGHTWING AND STARFIRE BELONG TO DC COMICS, MARV WOLFMAN AND GEORGE PEREZ.**

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Chapter 5: Gotham's Inferno!

As Nightwing and Starfire made their way towards Otisburg, where the fire station there was set on fire, and the power cut off, Dick couldn't help but notice a bit of a disheartened expression on Kori's face. She usually wasn't like this unless some sort of major fight affected her. From the looks of it, it just seemed that their fight with Professor Pyg was what did it for her, and he could understand, seeing all those poor people in those doll outfits was just so disturbing and creepy.

"Kori? Are you okay?" Dick asked as he pulled over and placed the car in park. He didn't want to cause an accident, especially against the remaining members of the GCPD left in the city, for many obvious reasons. "I haven't seen you this down in ages. Mind telling me what's on your mind?" Dick knew that since this was Kori's first night in Gotham and her first time fighting the bad guys here, it was going to have some traumatic effect on her.

"I am disturbed by the recent battle," she said, a solemn tone in her voice, "When we entered that theatre of operations, I was frightened that such a man of extraordinary prowess of the surgeons would wish to use his knowledge for his own pleasures of pervertedness and darkness. He reminds me of the man of the two faces whom we have faced in the past." Starfire wasn't lying there. In the Titans' early years, they went up against Two-Face when his daughter, Duela AKA Harlequin, wanted to join the Titans to make up for her father's sinful past. Though Star's comparison between Professor Pyg and Two-Face was that they were both insane and had obsessions.

"I'm pretty freaked out too, Star," said Nightwing, placing a hand on her shoulder as he wiped tears he saw forming on her eyes. She'd definitely have a lot of them when facing some of the more insane foes, "Though I've seen stuff like this from an early age, so I'm a bit used to it. We'll need to plan our attacks carefully, if we're gonna win back Gotham. But if you need a break for a little while, then we can go ahead and find a nice rooftop." Dick learned that the hard way. When he was still in his early years as Robin, he witnessed Two-Face kill a judge and brutally beat him to a bloody pulp, causing Batman to temporarily forbid Dick to be Robin for a while. From then on, Dick learned to plan ahead and that was what helped make him a successful leader for the Teen Titans, combined with the fact that he was Batman's partner. He also knew that Starfire would definitely need a break sometimes while facing the criminally insane, to let her mind rest and catch up with Nightwing.

"That would be most wonderful," she said, smiling a bit and hugging him softly, her massive breasts pressing up against his body again and causing him to blush so madly his face turned bright red as his crotch became tight again. Starfire certainly had the two things that gave Nightwing this reaction: her long fiery red hair, and her perfectly sexy and curvaceous body, like that of a Greek Goddess and befitting of a princess of Tamaran like herself. "Come, I belive we have a fire to extinguish, as much as I wish to stay and initiate the cuddles with you as we are now."

"You're right, honey," Nightwing chuckled, glad to hear his girlfriend back to normal somewhat, though especially when they would be facing against Two-Face, she'd really need a bit of a rest. Nightwing placed the Nightbird into drive, and the two zoomed off towards the last fire in Otisburg. Apparently, Batman was out dousing these fires earlier, only to find Firefly at the scene of each and every incident. When they arrived, the scene was horrendous as the fire was out of control in the inside of the building, and threatening to burst the windows open. "Looks like the sprinkler system's power's been cut off," said Nightwing as he assessed the situation.

"Then, we can restore it, yes?" Starfire asked, knowing that though there was likely no one inside since most of the Gotham Fire Department was safe in the GCPD. Nevertheless they had to make sure they had a barracks ready to come back to and in the least amount of damage as possible. That was when Nightwing revealed the Nightbird's battle mode. It was similarly equipped like the current model of the Batmobile that Lucius Fox designed. The wheels extended outward, and the tires positioned sideways so they could allow easy movement and a range of vision that was able to hit any target.

"That we can, Star," replied Nightwing, pressing another button and unleashing the power wench cable, "Cyborg's definitely gonna be jealous if he hears about this." As the power wench connected with the main circuit box, Nightwing began to rev up the engine, slowly, so that the electricity to the building was able to operate fully. "Just a little more..." Nightwing muttered as he revved up the engine of the Nightbird to near full power so that it wouldn't overheat the engine.

Finally, the power came back on and the sprinklers turned on, dousing the flames inside. Starfire only smiled in relief, but Nightwing knew something was up. In almost an instant, a crazed laughter was heard, and the deformed figure of Firefly emerged from the windows, flying above them. His respirator mask with goggles covered his entire face, but he didn't wear his jacket like the time he faced Batman, revealing the third degree burns he had all over his body.

"It's over, Firefly," said Nightwing as he prepped the Nightbird out of battle mode, "Give up now. You can't win this match!" Nightwing was ready for whatever Lynns would be up to. He heard from Alfred of how Batman faced him previous times and how he fled to set all Gotham ablaze.

"Never!" Firefly shouted with a crazed chuckle, "Tonight, Gotham will burn, and you and the Bat along with it, Nightwing!" With his jetpack on full power, Firefly then took off. Nightwing knew that Firefly would do this, and that they could chase them through the city, but with Starfire by his side, it would definitely be easier.

"I will try to subdue him in the air," said Starfire as she unbuckled her seatbelt and opened the cockpit, "You will not mind following from the ground?" She asked Nightwing with the determined look in her eyes she always had when ready for battle. At this, Dick couldn't help but chuckle.

"Go for it, Star!" He told her, "He won't expect someone like you on his tail!" With that, Starfire immediately took flight in pursuit. Dick then got out of the car, activating the alarm and stealth mode, then summoned his bike: the Wing Cycle. An improved and recolored version of the R-Cycle he used as Robin, this was Nightwing's preferred mode of transportation. Donning his helmet, Nightwing revved up the bike and zoomed off to follow Starfire in pursuit.

They were able to track down Firefly and follow him from the trail of smoke his jetpack left behind. For Starfire though it was a breeze. Unlike Kryptonians who had to solely absorb yellow sunlight to use their powers, Tamaranean powers were affected by their emotions as well as sunlight. So Starfire had a backup source for stamina for her powers, one that was inexhaustible.

"What the!?" Firefly asked bewildered when he saw Starfire, "How're you able to keep up!? How!?" He was focusing mostly on Nightwing down below, burning the road as a way to burn him alive, but he never expected Starfire.

"I am sorry to disappoint you, Insect of Flames," she replied, her all-green eyes glowing brightly and ready for an attack, "But I am not what I seem!" Starfire was a beginner at ambushing and the element of surprise, but she learned this skill first from the Warlords of Okaara, and later with Dick on covert missions. Her glowing green eyes would terrify enemies when she was in the darkness.

"Go to Hell!!" Firefly shouted, shooting his flames at both Nightwing and Starfire, "Burn!! Both of you!!!" Starfire and Nightwing both were able to dodge the fire. This was part of Nightwing's plan. By shooting his flames at the two of them, Firefly would run low on fuel faster than he did when Batman faced him, causing his jetpack to run solely on fumes.

"That's it, Star!" Nightwing told her, "Keep at it!" Starfire then unleashed a barrage of starbolts at Firefly's flames, snuffing them out. Now Firefly was worried. No one told him that an alien was one of Nightwing's allies. He just kept shooting his flames at the both of them, terrified by what was going on. But then, his smoke trail turned pitch black as sparks came out of it.

"No! NO!! Not now!!" He yelled in fear, his fuel was all used up. "Get away from me!!" He shouted at them. Yet Nightwing kept up from his bike with his grapnel gun, catching up to him, while Starfire tackled him, thus pinning him to the ground. "Gotham...it must...burn!!!" Firefly shouted, but as he tried to fly away again, Nightwing held on tightly for dear life.

"Robin!!" Starfire shouted, and immediately followed after them in flight. She knew that her boyfriend was a horrible flyer when it came to jetpacks and rocket powered devices, despite his amazing acrobatic skills. She saw this when they fought off a group of villains called the Fearsome Five during Dick's time as Robin. One of the members, Gizmo, was able to fly via a jetpack, and when Dick tried to apprehend him once during a confrontation, he had trouble steering it in the right direction properly.

'No wonder Lynns is demented!' Nightwing thought as he tried his best to take control of Firefly's jetpack, 'Trying to steer this thing would make anybody go bonkers!!' It was harrowing and nerve racking for the former Robin, and as he did his best to direct the flight pattern, yelling from the sudden adrenaline rush, he was able to spot the GCPD Lockup nearby. Determined, he grabbed onto the jet pack wings and made a nosedive for the landing pad on the roof.

Just before Firefly landed, Nightwing jumped off, bracing for his feet to impact hard on the ground, but instead landed safely in his girlfriend's arms, feeling one of her massive pillowy breasts pressing against his face.

"Star...nice catch. Thanks," he told her, smiling happily as their eyes locked.

"I welcome you," she replied, "You and I are both well aware that you do not fair well with control over the pack of the jets." She soon floated down and let Nightwing back onto his feet. Firefly was on his hands and knees, his jetpack still spewing thick black smoke.

"And just so he's not tempted," Nightwing said as he grabbed the main circuit to Firefly's jetpack, and tore it out, cutting the power to it so that Lynns wouldn't get any ideas of stealing it back and escaping. Aaron Cash and another officer then arrived via the rooftop elevator after they heard the noise. "He's all yours, Cash. Lock him up!" Nightwing stated with a grin on his face, Starfire at his side.

"We'll take it from here," said the cop as he grabbed Firefly's arm, "C'mon, on your feet Lynns." Firefly begrudgingly was dragged away to the elevator while Cash picked up the flamethrower, a new spoil for the evidence room.

"I've been wanting to add this baby to the collection for a while now," he told Nightwing and Starfire, getting back in the elevator, "Keep up the good work you two!" As the elevator doors closed, the two Titans only laughed happily from the thrill of the chase.

"Oh, now that was a bit too close for comfort!" Nightwing exclaimed as he walked with Starfire to a nice covered patch they could stand under and get out of the rain somewhat. It was always raining in Gotham most of the time, and it always snowed in winter as well. "Haven't felt that way since the last time we faced the Fearsome Five."

"Indeed. However the expression upon your face was most humorous," said Starfire, unable to help herself from giggling.

"Oh was it now?" Nightwing asked with a devious grin on his face. He then proceeded to tickle his girlfriend's sides. Instantly, Starfire widened her eyes with a gasp as she began laughing and giggling even louder.

"S-Stop!" She exclaimed while trying to resist but to no avail, "Robin, I am prone to the tickles!" Needless to say, Kori loved it whenever Dick teased her like this when they were alone.

"I'm well aware," he replied, "And I know how much you enjoy it!" Nightwing couldn't help but laugh with his girlfriend as she fell softly backwards with him on top of her. Dick then stopped tickling her and locked his eyes with her own, "God, you're amazing Kori," he said, running one of his hands through her hair, "Seeing you smile and laugh makes me realize why I love you so much."

"Oh, you are truly quite the charmer," she replied, leaning in and kissing him on the lips again, deeply and passionately. Yet before they were able to get too involved, something entered the corner of her eyes. "Um...Robin?" She asked, with a concerned look. She wasn't looking at him, but something behind him.

Nightwing turned, and saw a huge fiery blimp falling near Panessa Studios, and on the side was a sign which read, "Iron Heights Penetentiary." Dick knew that all too well, it was the prison airship where many of Flash's rogues were incarcerated. The two of them watched in astonishment as the blimp itself crashed into the bay off Bleake Island. Instantly, Nightwing helped Starfire into her feet and contacted Batman.

"Uh Bruce, you've got a problem. A pretty big one," he said, "You ever heard of Iron Heights? The prison airship based in Keystone? Yeah, well Starfire and I just saw it fall out of the sky and splash down into Gotham Bay. You could have casualties. Or worse, escapees." Nightwing knew that now they'd need serious backup in case they had an encounter with someone like Gorilla Grodd in the airship prison.

"Meet me there," replied Batman, solemnly and in his usual monotone voice. This was his city, and he didn't want anyone messing with it from outside. Alfred already informed him though about Starfire rescuing Nightwing and they dealt with Penguin and the weapons caches.

"Understood. Nightwing out," said the former Robin as he then contacted Flash about this, "Hey Wally, it's me. You didn't by any chance misplace your prison airship, did you? Because right now, Star and I are looking at it, and it just landed in Gotham Bay." Dick figured that if anyone would help them navigate the prison, it was Wally.

The two knew each other from their tenures as Robin and Kid Flash, which made Wally another founding member of the Teen Titans, and Dick's best friend on and off duty.

"Oh crap!" Flash replied, "Hang on Nightwing, I'll be there as soon as I can!" He was not happy that Iron Heights was partially submerged in Gotham Bay, but at least he was happy that he was going to see Starfire again. He strongly supported Dick and Kori as a couple, since he knew she could help look after his best friend.

"Alright, Thanks Flash!" Nightwing replied, "We'll see you soon." He ended communications and looked to see the overjoyed expression on Starfire's face. She was always happy to reunite with her friends, as the Titans were like family to her. "Shall we?" Nightwing asked, smiling at his girlfriend.

"Indeed we shall," said Starfire, picking him up in her arms again and flying over to Iron Heights. They needed to find out what happened and why the prison was in Gotham, and they would soon find out.


	6. Chapter 6: Beneath the Surface

Nightwing – Arkham Knight

 **DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING! ALL CHARACTERS BELONG TO DC COMICS. BATMAN - ARKHAMVERSE BELONGS TO DC ENTERTAINMENT, WB ENTERTAINMENT AND ROCKSTEADY GAMES. BATMAN BELONGS TO DC COMICS, BOB KANE AND BILL FINGER. NIGHTWING AND STARFIRE BELONG TO DC COMICS, MARV WOLFMAN AND GEORGE PEREZ.**

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Chapter 6: Beneath the Surface...

As Nightwing and Starfire made their way towards the airship, they could see a blur of red with gold electricity forming a tail reaching the same destination. Dick couldn't help but smile as he knew that Flash was here in Gotham.

Dick and Wally knew each other for a long time, as they first met when their mentors founded the Justice League after defeating the Appelaxians. Dick was still Robin at the time and Wally was still Kid Flash. Together with Donna Troy, then Wonder Girl, did they break out of the shadows of their mentors to prove themselves, and along with Starfire, Beast Boy, Cyborg and Raven, they formed the Teen Titans.

When Wally's uncle, Barry Allen the original Flash, died trying to stop the Anti-Monitor, Wally, now a young man, took up his uncle's mantle around the same time Dick became Nightwing. Occasionally they would hang out together and fight crime in Keystone, but now this was the first time since their days as Titans that they had Starfire joining the mission.

"I'm here," Batman's voice came in on the comm. link.

"Yeah, we're on our way. Sans cape, Remember?" Dick jested back. He hadn't worn capes since his days as Robin, but he could still glide when he had the chance. Though that pales in comparison to being flown by his alien girlfriend. Naturally, Starfire also enjoyed it as well, since she could spend more time with Dick.

"What do we know of this prison of the iron heights?" Kori asked, since she had no experience helping Wally out like Dick did.

"What can I say? Imagine the worst prison in the country," Nightwing told her, hoping that would give a good description.

"Are all the airborne prisons on your planet that horrible?"

Nightwing chuckled at his girlfriend's remark.

"Oh God, no, but it's still pretty bad," he told her, "But what I can't understand is what it was doing in Gotham. Maybe it picked up someone we know?"

"We shall soon find out," Starfire replied as the blimp came in sight. It was taking on water and partially submerged. Whatever happened here, it was now a race against time to save those still trapped inside.

Flash was there waving towards them. He was just as shocked and excited to find both Nightwing and Starfire back together again.

"Hey guys! I got your call and came as soon as I could," he told them, "I figured there was something fishy with crime low in Keystone for the past few days."

"It is glorious to see you again as well, Flash!" Starfire exclaimed. She then turned to Nightwing, "Shall we?"

"After you," replied the former Robin as he opened the hatch and raised his age old battle cry, "Titans, GO!!!"

He and Starfire made their way down first, Flash following soon thereafter. Wally had quite the shoes to fill in now that he was the scarlet speedster. Having to go on missions with the Justice League, and take care of crime in both Central and Keystone City, he had his work cut out for him. At least he was lucky that Captain Boomerang wasn't incarcerated here, as he was a key member of the Suicide Squad, and had Deadshot and Waller to keep him in line.

When the three Titans entered the airship, water was filling the ship gradually and there were loose wires, small electrical fires and all sorts of safety hazards.

"Based on the damage, it looks obvious," Nightwing muttered. Yet before he could investigate further, Starfire screamed and rushed towards him.

"There is something in the water!" She cried out as she clung onto her boyfriend. Dick instantly felt his girlfriend's massive breasts pressing into his back and his face turned bright red. He knew that ever since he and Starfire first became a couple when he was still Robin, this reaction whenever he felt her breasts pressing into him was always something Kid Flash and Beast Boy would tease him about. This time it was serious, as there were corpses scattered across the deck, and then the former Robin looked into the water.

"It's gonna be alright," he said, trying to calm his girlfriend down, "Where in the water did you see it?" Starfire only whimpered as she pointed to a guard floating towards them unconscious. Her whole body was shaking with fear. Nightwing looked to Flash with a serious look and the two nodded. The scarlet speedster went down to help the guard up out of the water, but when he pulled him out, his lower half was missing, and his organs were ripped to shreds, bloodied.

"Oh man...whoever did this certainly wasn't keen on leaving his victims in one piece," said Flash as he and Nightwing took a look over the body.

"Wait a minute..." said Nightwing while he used his detective vision, "Those teeth marks..." Dick had a big hunch about who could do such damage, and it wasn't Grodd. Then it all added up as soon as he analyzed the teeth marks, making out their reptilian shape. "Killer Croc," he told his teammates. To his knowledge, none of the Titans ever fought against Croc before, so this was something completely new to them. When Dick was still Robin, he told the Titans all about the different foes he and Batman fought together, and Croc was one of them. Now as adults, remembering those stories, Starfire and Flash knew what to expect.

"You sure about this Nightwing?" Flash asked in disbelief, "That's just impossible." For all Wally knew, Croc was not one of Iron Heights' inmates. Yet this facility was no stranger to holding animalistic criminals.

"Who else could've done this to the guard?" Dick asked, "I'm guessing that he's the one who caused the ship to crash as well." Nightwing knew Croc's tactics all too well, despite the fact he rarely faced him during his early tenure as Robin. "Most likely, he escaped his cell and tore the engine apart."

"That would explain how the blimp was able to crash," said Starfire, trying her best to calm down but still shaking, "Then we must b-be cautious and not fall into the water. I have learned from Beast Boy, some species of crocodiles can survive at sea." Nightwing and Flash were well aware of this as well. Given that Beast Boy's parents were zoologists, he was an expert on the animals he turned into. As a result, the Titans learned a lot about animals they never would've thought about.

"Nightwing, this ship was holding Waylon Jones. He's in here somewhere," said Batman as his voice came over Nightwing's comm. link.

"Yeah, we know," Nightwing replied, "We've found a guard...well, the part of him Croc didn't eat." Dick knew that Bruce was all too familiar with Croc from his early career, from when he was hired by Joker to kill Batman to recently as 2 years ago during the Arkham Riots when he mutilated Scarecrow's face. In fact Dick recalled seeing him in the sewers during the Arkham City cleanup, with his shock collar off.

"You and the Titans keep searching the ship," Batman instructed, "We need to find him quickly." This was something the Dark Knight knew that he needed more assistance, as Croc was too strong to take down alone.

"Roger that, over and out," said Nightwing as he ended the transmission. He then looked up at the catwalks, or what remained of them, as well as those floating in the water. His detective vision though revealed there were people still in the water, guards from their uniforms. They were probably the first victims on Croc's menu. "Alright, here's the plan," he told Flash and Starfire, "We rescue as many people as we can that are still alive. Knock out any inmates, and find out what we can from the guards."

"What of the Killer Croc?" Starfire asked, more angry than scared. She was not unfamiliar with similar circumstances. If anything Dick's description of him reminded her of the Gordanians, the very aliens who tried to enslave her. So she wasn't going to sit idly by and be scared.

"If we find him, we report to Batman," said Nightwing, "Unless he finds him first." He placed a hand softly on Starfire's shoulder as his way of acknowledging how uncomfortable she was. "We won't let anyone else die. I promise." This made Starfire feel happy that her boyfriend was aware of how she felt. The Titans then moved throughout the ship carefully. Flash ran across the water to the catwalks that were floating atop the water, while Nightwing and Starfire opted to either gliding, flying or crawling through the ventilation shafts. All around then were signs of the damage Croc did to the ship, from electrical fires to bent steel bars on cells.

"I do not understand. For what reason would they keep a villain such as the Killer Croc imprisoned here?" Starfire asked.

"I don't know, but it clearly was a bad idea," said Nightwing as they crawled through a ventilation shaft. It was a tight fit, yes, but neither of them seemed to mind. "I remember that his cell at Arkham was just an old sewer; the guards just dropped meat down there and left him alone except for therapy sessions and examinations." As they made progress they could hear Croc's roar echoing throughout the ship. Instinctively, Kori held Nightwing tightly, frightened by how inhuman it sounded.

"Guys, I learned from one of the guards that Croc was here on Ranken's orders," Flash called in on the comm. links. They stillwere able to patch in to reach out to other heroes; the Titans even had their own private connection, as well as the T-communicators.

"Nice going, we'd better hurry," said Nightwing, "If you see a scaly back in the water let us know. Nightwing out." They all knew that those trapped had to be saved in a matter of time before the ship sank. With ruptured pipes and fires on deck, the whole structure was bound to sink beneath the waves.

"Never have I been so thankful that you taught me how to swim," Starfire told Nightwing as they flew towards an open air vent. When she first arrived on Earth, she never learned how to swim as that wasn't part of her training on Okaara, given the planet was a barren wasteland. So by the time they established the Teen Titans, Dick offered to teach her how. Of course he never forgot the sight of her in a purple bikini as well.

"Yeah, still we probably shouldn't try it if there are loose wires," Nightwing replied, "The last thing we want is anyone getting electrocuted." Luckily the inmates had cages all above the water. Many of them were terrified of either drowning or being eaten. "Good thing the GCPD Lockup's big enough to hold the inmates." Just then, another inhuman roar echoed across the ship. Starfire hugged Nightwing tightly out of fear.

"I do not know how long I will endure such roaring," she said, relaxing as Nightwing held her softly. The last time he saw her scared like this was when they fought Trigon for the first time and ended up fighting against his demonic emissaries, who were able to mutate into horrifying monsters.

"You'll be fine. I promise," Nightwing said, "Not even Trigon could withstand your bravery and fury." This made Kori feel a little bit better, as Dick reminded her that they faced the impossible before and they could do it again. Flash then returned, though his hair was now sopping wet.

"I found more guards, but no giant lizard man," said the Scarlet Speedster. Starfire only giggled as she saw that it was evident he had a bit of a dip. Yet they were soon interrupted by a breakthrough.

"Nightwing, have the Titans meet me at my location now," said Batman, as his voice came onto the comm. link.

"You found Croc?" Nightwing asked, hopeful that his surrogate father was able to find any leads.

"Yes. He's got the warden," Batman replied. Now this was serious, as it was obvious what would happen if they didn't hurry.

"Just hang on, we're on our way!" Nightwing replied, then he turned to his teammates with that same determined look. "Titans, Croc's got the warden hostage! Batman wants us to meet up at his location, near the gym." Starfire and Flash nodded and the three Titans made their way as fast as they could to the rec room. From a skylight in the blimp, they were able to drop down to the rec room, marked by weights, ping-pong tables and cells full of inmates.

The cell doors opened and a dozen inmates came charging out when the unmistakable huge shadow of a bat came into view above them. Batman had finally arrived.

"Take them!" He shouted and the Titans immediately knew what to do. The Iron Heights prisoners were, like Gotham's criminals, terrified of Starfire, as they never encountered a Tamaranean before.

"Star! Heads up!" Nightwing shouted as he kicked one thug to her for a dual team takedown. With a single punch she knocked him unconscious. Batman and Nightwing used their grapple guns to deliver a dual knockout punch to another thug, showing just how effective they were as partners. Flash was constantly pounding the inmates he faced with barrage after barrage of punches. The last thug tried to flee the room but both Nightwing and Starfire knocked him out with a dual flying kick.

With the thugs knocked out and down for the count, the four heroes now had to deal with the situation they now faced.

"Taking the warden's odd, even for Croc," Batman noted, "Why didn't he just kill Ranken and escape?" Having spent years fighting Killer Croc it was unusual for him to take a hostage.

"Maybe he likes a long lunch?" Flash asked trying to lighten the mood.

"Either that, or there's something the guards aren't telling us," said Nightwing, who had the same thought as his foster father.

"Perhaps he will be able to tell us," said Starfire as she pointed out the guard she could see from the control room above. He witnessed the whole fight, assuming that from Batman and Flash present, the Justice League was on the case. Flash made his way up, since he knew his way around. Batman followed as did Nightwing and Starfire.

"The prisoners have been handled. You're safe now," said the Dark Knight as he entered the control room.

"Man, thanks." The guard told him and Flash, "When I heard those cell doors unlock, I thought I was done for."

"Ron, any chance we could have access to that door?" Flash asked.

"Not a chance," the guard replied, "It's keycard accessible only, two-man rule. As soon as this ship fell outta the sky, they bailed out."

"I'll find them. They must be somewhere in Gotham," the Dark Knight told Ron. He then turned to Nightwing and Starfire as they entered, "Nightwing, I'm going after the keycards, they're our only way to reach Croc. You and the Titans focus on getting the survivors off this ship."

"You got it," Nightwing replied with a grin, "We'll cross-reference the database, make sure everyone's present." He and Starfire made their way over to the computer. "Think you can handle this?" He asked her softly, knowing how much she helped out with the Professor Pyg incident.

"I will do my best. However I will need your help," she said, smiling softly at him. Batman didn't show it, but he was happy that Dick and Kori we're finally back together. He knew about her from Dick's transmissions from Titans Tower when the latter was still Robin, and from when the Justice League and the Teen Titans worked to stop Trigon's first invasion of Earth. Through it all he could tell the two cared for each other and he even approved of them as a couple. As such, Bruce was more than willing to consider her part of the family. He put those thoughts aside for the moment as he contacted Alfred.

"Master Bruce, local reports confirmed that when the airship crashed, two security guards did indeed parachute to...well, I wouldn't say safety, sir. This is Gotham after all," said Alfred, having looked into the incident from the Batcave. "I'll send you their locations, but I can only give you the approximate estimate where they landed. You'll need to look for any evidence of parachutes when you arrive."

"Thanks Alfred," Batman told his faithful butler and the transmission ended. Then the Caped Crusader left the control room to search for the keys. But not before Nightwing and Starfire opened the doors.

"I managed to get through internal security," Nightwing said on the comm. link, "Now you'll be able to get back out the way you came in." Batman nodded and gave a confident smirk to his foster son, a sight he showed rarely, and dashed off into Gotham. The former Robin then looked to his teammates to discuss the plan. "Alright, we have our orders. Flash, check the airship for survivors and get them out of here. Starfire, you and I will check the database from here for names of any inmates or guards." The two nodded as Flash grabbed a hold of Ron and made his way out. He also knew that the happy couple needed some alone time.

Instantly, Nightwing and Starfire got to work, cross referencing the names of staff onboard, confirming if they were either alive or dead. At that moment Nightwing knew that something was bothering Kori, from how depressed she looked.

"Are you feeling okay?" He asked, sitting down next to her. "Something's bothering you, isn't it?" She only nodded softly as she held Dick's hand.

"Yes...Robin, I did not wish to confess but...I need to tell you..." she did her best to hold back tears, but a few trickled down her cheeks. "Tamaran...It has been destroyed." Dick was shocked when he heard this revelation, that Tamaran suffered the same fate as Krypton.

"No way...Tamaran's gone?" He asked in disbelief, "But the planet's core was stable when we visited there twice." Dick recalled that when he was Robin, the Titans made their way to Tamaran whenever they were dealing with Blackfire. That was when he met Starfire's parents for the first time, King Myand'r and Queen Luand'r, and Prince Ryand'r, her baby brother and heir to the throne. Tamaran seemed like a tropical paradise and her people a warrior culture who valued honor, love and liberty. Starfire trembled as she gripped her boyfriend's hand tightly.

"Yes, But it was not the implosion of the core that destroyed it..." she revealed, "...It was Blackfire! Blackfire caused it...after I was forcefully married against my wishes, she took the throne, branded me a traitor and banished me...but her rule over Tamaran was one of fear and cruelty. Those who did not submit to her were executed or imprisoned." Her voice trembled and her eyes filled with tears. "Our greatest warrior, Phy'zon was disgusted and he vowed to end this reign of terror and restore peace...but the weapon he used, the Sun-Eater, it was so powerful he could not control it..."

Nightwing was horrified, that this weapon destroyed his girlfriend's planet, killing everyone who did not flee. She was the last of her people, a refugee without a home. He wasn't going to let her sadness continue. He hugged her tightly, pulling her into his chair.

"I'm truly sorry for your loss. I had no idea that happened," he said, sorrowfully, "I know all too well the pain of losing a family, but you'll heal, I promise I won't let you be alone." Then suddenly a thought struck him, "That settles it. When this business in Gotham is all over, we're heading back to Titans Tower for good, we're going home." Dick knew that he still had family there, and that he and Kori were more than welcome to come back.

Starfire's eyes widened when she heard those words, that they were going back to the tower. It was the Home she knew on Earth, and they had so many fond memories. The beautiful Tamaranean princess hugged Nightwing tightly as she cried happily into his shoulder. This Halloween, though unsettling, was going to end as the best thing that ever happened to her.

"Star, what's wrong? I thought you'd be happy," Nightwing asked, confused as to why his girlfriend was crying now.

"I am..." she sobbed, "Robin, I feel that for the first time in years...I have found such happiness once again! I do not wish for it to end ever again..." Kori was speaking her true feelings now. She never wanted to leave her friends, her team and especially her man. Now she wasn't going anywhere. She and Dick had their ups and downs, and they argued, but the bonds they had both as friends and lovers was still strong as ever.

"I promise, I won't ever leave you," said Nightwing as he knew this time he had to play it right. "I made a lot of mistakes back then, ones that I honestly regret, but I want to change, and be a better boyfriend for you than I was before." At this, Starfire only nodded and smiled as she looked at the man she loved and kissed him softly on the lips.

"The mullet will stay," she said, giggling as she stroked his hair, "Though I believe we should discuss this matter later. We do not wish to keep Flash waiting for us, correct?"

"Yeah, good point," Nightwing replied with a sheepish chuckle, "Okay, we'll talk more when we're done in Gotham. Though I could definitely use your help with a final sweep of Bludhaven...and of course moving out." Starfire only giggled happily.

"I do not mind, rather I have missed having the sufficiency of myself since my return to Tamaran," she admitted. Kori was no stranger to doing chores despite her status as a princess. Ironically, she wasn't one to complain about chores. In fact she liked doing them, as it was a nice change of pace from the life she lived on Tamaran, surrounded by servants who waited on her hand and foot. So for her, being able to be put to work was something exciting.

"Okay, thanks babe. Anyway let's get back to the lists," said Dick as he got back to his seat, with Kori scooting her's ever so closely to his. The two began double checking the names off the list of staff and the list of incarcerated inmates, relaying the names to Flash so he could confirm if they were still alive. That way he could rush the survivors off the ship, with his superhuman speed, the Titans accomplished that in 4 minutes.

"Okay Guys, that's the last one!" Flash called in, after getting the last inmate off the ship.

"Nice work Flash!" Nightwing exclaimed, "I've got in touch with Officer Cash, the GCPD can handle them from here!" At that moment, another signal was heard on the comm. link.

"Nightwing, I've got both key cards," Batman said on the comm. link, "What's your status on the survivors?" Bruce had quite the trouble getting to them. One of the guards died in the crash, but he saved the other from being killed by the thugs outside.

"Good, we're working with Cash getting the survivors back to GCPD," he said, "Flash just got the last one off."

"I'm heading back to the ship. Croc's not getting away," said Batman as he made his way back to the airship.

"Roger that. Nightwing out." Nightwing and Starfire waited for Batman to get back. During that time, they decided to let Flash in on Tamaran's destruction, a subject that the other Titans would need to know about. They also caught up on how his personal life was; Wally revealed that he was married and had two kids, a son named Jai, and a daughter named Iris after his aunt. Just then, Batman arrived a few minutes later.

"With these we'll be able to head deeper into the airship," said the Dark Knight, as he handed one key to Nightwing. Father and son inserted both key cards into the slots, unlocking the security door below.

"Okay, lets not keep the giant man-eating lizard waiting," said Nightwing with a grin as he and the two Titans followed Batman down below. There, the scene was eirily familiar: electric fires, but not as bad. As they all slid down the air vent, they soon came across what seemed to be a lab. A video above displayed the warden explaining how the staff were able to track Croc down to the Founders' Island lighthouse, captured him and then strapped him to an operating table to be tested on, even amputating his arm.

Starfire gasped in horror as she covered her mouth with her hand, despite the fact that Croc's arm grew back afterwards. The video then showed doctors administering Croc's DNA to various prisoners, causing them to scream out in pain, and the warden even admitted having to euthanize Croc if necessary.

"Oh God..." Flash muttered as he watched. He honestly had no idea this was going on in the very prison he sent the Rogues to.

"The warden was running experiments on Croc and the lower profile prisoners," Batman noted, "It looks like he was trying to weaponize his condition."

"And now Croc wants revenge. I can't blame him for that," said Nightwing, disgusted by the sight. There were more fires, loose wires and the corpse of one of the doctors lay on the floor. "I can't believe they were using Croc and the prisoners as guinea pigs. Bastards."

"Is it not wrong to feel sympathetic towards him?" Starfire asked, knowing full well what it was like to be captured and caged like an animal.

"If he wasn't so insane, we'd help him," Nightwing said, "We still have to take him in regardless. But we'll make sure he gets Justice. I promise." Nightwing smiled at Starfire to let her know they were also going to give Croc some peace of mind. Batman then made his way to the floor grate, lifting the hood.

"Let's finish this," he said, "I'll take the floor grate."

"I'll vibrate through the wall," Flash said, having finally gotten that technique down.

"Alright, Star, you and I will take the air vent," Nightwing told Starfire.

"Let us see that Justice is served!" Starfire declared and the two began crawling through the cramped air shaft. As they crawled, it was near impossible for the two to feel each other's bodies pressing against each other. Though Starfire was turned on by this, as was Nightwing, they tried their best to restrain themselves for the moment. Then they could hear the Warden's voice.

"Release me!" He demanded, surrounded by inmates and strapped into the operating table. Croc looked him straight in the eyes, and he was furious.

"You made it worse! Cure me!" He growled out in rage; his voice now sounded more animalistic than human.

"I can't, your disease is agitated by trauma," the Warden explained, but Croc slammed his clawed hands on the table.

"YOU'RE LYING!!!!" He roared. The prisoners cheered him on to kill the warden or rip his head off and see if it grew back, but Croc silenced them. "No! First, he's gonna suffer, like we did."

"You beasts! Animals!" The warden decried.

Nightwing and Starfire took one look at Croc from the vents, and he looked completely different than before. His condition worsened, he seemed taller than he was before, his back was covered in spines. His skull was more reptilian now, and he had a huge tail and only wore a loincloth and chains around his waist.

"He has the appearance of a Gordanian elder," Starfire whispered as she took in his appearance, "Perhaps he has family from the planet Karna?" Of course, what Kori proposed was a bit outlandish, as Karna, the Gordanians' home planet, was lightyears away from Earth.

"He'd probably fit right in, but no," Nightwing whispered back with a chuckle, "He's actually a tragic case. Born Waylon Jones, a resident of Florida, he developed a rare form of atavism as a kid, that caused him to revert from mammal to reptile." Starfire knew from Beast Boy that all mammals on Earth originally evolved from reptiles in prehistoric times. So hearing about Croc's case of atavism was rare. Nightwing continued, "His condition became so bad that he became a sideshow performer, wrestling alligators for cash. Then he turned to a life of crime after his co-workers were killed. Joker originally hired him to kill Batman 17 years ago." Dick was still a kid acrobat when Joker made his debut, so he heard about Croc in the news reports.

"If he is as dangerous as you say," said Starfire, "Then I believe we must take him down together." Her voice was filled with the boundless determination and confidence she always displayed. This was proof enough that she was just as powerful a fighter as Wonder Woman, given the fact she was a bit more powerful than Superman.

Then as if on cue, Batman emerged from the floor grate nearest to Croc, but the reptilian monster pinned the Dark Knight to the ground.

"I thought I caught your scent, Batman!" Croc growled sadistically. He threatened to eat Batman many times before, and now he could really get his chance. Yet at that moment, as he pushed the operating table back into the very cage he was kept in earlier, Nightwing and Starfire burst in on cue.

"It's the aftershave," said the former Robin as he grinned at the thugs, "Oh, and fellas, I don't think I've introduced you to my girlfriend, haven't I?" With a mischievous grin, he looked at Starfire with a nod, "Let's take them Star!"

"I shall aid you with the utmost pleasure, Robin!" She exclaimed as she cracked her knuckles and her eyes glowed pure bright green, terrifying the inmates a bit. She flew into the air and unleashed a barrage of punches. She knew that her starbolts could put a hole in the ship, which was the last thing they needed. Regardless it still terrified many of the thugs that they tried to run for the door, but Flash vibrated his molecules through the door, smirking at them.

"Hey guys, you're not gonna just run out on me now, are ya?" He asked as he unleashed his own barrage of punches on them. Now it was Batman, Nightwing and Starfire left to deal with those left in the room, including Croc. At first the huge reptile monster charged at the heroes on all fours, but they were able to dodge his rush. As he stood up, Batman was get behind him, bringing him down while Nightwing delivered a knee kick to Jones' face, then pulled him across the room, causing him to hit the wall.

Just then, Dick remembered one lesson that he learned as a child acrobat from Miranda Kane, Haley's Circus' resident animal expert.

"The eyes!" He muttered, and began using his staff to hit Croc in the face. "Star, aim for his head! It's his weak spot!" He shouted to his girlfriend, unaware of what was coming towards him.

"Robin, look out!!" Starfire shouted, and Dick narrowly avoided being hit by Croc's giant tail. The Tamaranean princess then proceeded to attack Killer Croc in the head, even hitting his eyes as well. She learned to hit alligators or crocodiles in the eyes from Beast Boy, during one of their many fights against the Fearsome Five. Nightwing then placed his escrima sticks out of staff mode and together with Starfire, Batman and Flash, unleashed a beat down on Croc.

The reptilian monster tried to come at them with swipes from his clawed hands, but Starfire managed to block it with both hands. Given Croc's thick hide, he barely felt the pain.

"You think that'll stop me, girlie?" He asked her in contempt.

"That was meeely a distraction," she said with a grin, "Robin, now!!" She shouted, and Nightwing amped up the voltage on his escrima sticks to 225 volts which he used to shock Killer Croc near the neck, immobilizing him. Croc roared out in agony as he felt the raw electrical current stunning his body. That jolt was enough to let Batman pin Croc down, while Nightwing and Starfire gave the knockout punch, causing Croc to lay senseless on the cold hard floor.

"We did it!" Starfire exclaimed, overjoyed that she helped defeat Killer Croc for the first time. She just stood next to Nightwing beaming happily as ever. Batman then approached, first appearing grim and monotonous as ever, but then he only smiled at the Tamaranean princess.

"Nice work," he told her and Nightwing. This was a big sign of relief for Kori, for Batman to praise her efforts in battle, it showed how much he respected her, not only because Dick loved her but for her prowess in a fight. The Dark Knight then made his way to the cage that imprisoned warden Ranken, and pulled the switch to release him. The cage opened up, causing the operating table to move forward, subsequently releasing the restraints. Ranken jumped down, putting on a show of gratitude to the heroes.

"Thank you. That monster needs to die," he said, indicating Croc. However Batman's stone-cold grimace was directed towards him, as he grabbed the warden by the collar and held him in the air.

"He's not the only monster here," said Batman, in an angry tone, "You used him for experiments; tortured these men!"

"I'm not begging your forgiveness," the warden declared, preferring to defend his twisted ideals.

"I don't forgive," Batman told him, and head butted him into unconsciousness. Then he turned to Starfire, knowing that what the warden did to Croc was not too different to how she was treated by the Gordanians. "How are you holding up?" He asked her.

"I am at ease now that his deceit has been revealed," she replied, relieved that he would be locked up for his crimes.

"Okay, how are we getting Croc back to GCPD?" Nightwing asked, "No way he can fit in the Nightbird or the Batmobile." Dick figured the only way that could happen was if they strapped Croc to the roof of the Nightbird. Moments later, the roar of a jet could be heard outside. Instantly Dick knew what Bruce was up to.

The four heroes made their way outside, finding the Batwing waiting for them, which they boarded, bringing the warden and Croc along for the ride. Croc was held in a special containment cage underneath the Batwing's fuselage. As this was Starfire's first time riding in the Batwing, she was surprised by how big it was.

They flew over Gotham, rounding the bay, thus allowing her to see all the city in view. She saw the remnants of Arkham City, with parts of the wall being torn down, Wonder Tower still smoldering from Hugo Strange's final act. In the distance, she saw Arkham Island and what remained of the Asylum, overgrown and overrun by Poison Ivy's TITAN induced plants. Though there was something else that caught her eye that she found intriguing.

Nightwing only smiled as he noticed how excited Starfire was at seeing all of Gotham from the air. He hoped that they'd be able to come in less than grim circumstances, so he could show her around the city he grew up before forming the Teen Titans.

"Quite something isn't it?" He asked her, hoping that she wouldn't be too put off by the frightening gothic architecture that defined the city.

"Indeed, it has a certain allure," she told him, "It is not as glorious as other cities I have heard of, ones that I wish to visit with you, but I am glad that I finally can gaze upon your previous home with my own eyes." Kori looked back at Dick, smiling softly at him. He only smiled back and kissed her forehead, scooting closer to her so she could sit in his lap.

"Maybe one of these days, we'll come back," he said, "Then I can give you a proper tour without any...interruptions, hopefully." Dick was hoping that if they did return for a visit, they wouldn't have to be fighting crime. He was hoping to even take her to Haly's Circus, so she could see where he grew up, and possibly perform on the trapeze with her. Starfire blushed at the thought of being able to visit Gotham with Dick just as ordinary civilians.

"Oh Robin, that would be truly glorious," she said happily, "I cannot imagine you as an appropriate guide for our tour!" While Gotham was on her list of cities she wanted to visit, Starfire also wanted to visit other cities like Rome, London, Madrid, Prague, and especially Kyoto. All of them with Dick, of course.

After a while, the Batwing finally landed on the GCPD Lockup's helicopter pad. The elevator doors opened, as Cash and a team of officers armed with rifles and stun prods arrived to meet Batman and the three Titans, ready to transfer Croc and Ranken into custody.

"Long time no see lizard man," said Cash as soon as he saw Croc, "We've got a lot of catching up to do." Cash was still pissed at Croc for biting off his left hand back at Arkham Asylum.

"He's your prisoner, Cash," said Batman, indicating the warden. An officer with a rifle moved forward and escorted Ranken down to the elevator, while the other guards amped up their shock prods and led Croc away.

"I escaped once, so I'll just escape again!" Croc declared, believing the GCPD couldn't hold him forever.

"Yeah, well try biting this off, big fella," said Cash as he raised his hook to Croc while the latter was being dragged off, before following his team down to the elevator. Batman then turned to Nightwing as he approached his former protege, stone faced as ever: a sight that Dick was dreading.

"Here's where you chew me out for screwing up the last weapon cache," Nightwing muttered, bracing himself for the worst. Yet Batman only smiled and placed a hand on his son's shoulder.

"I'm proud of you, Dick," he said instead, shocking both Flash and Starfire, and confusing Nightwing. Bruce never tried to praise him at all for his efforts, and to hear him say that he was proud wasn't something he was used to.

"Are you feeling okay?" Dick asked, still surprised that Bruce would say something like that to him.

"This is it...this could be the end," Batman replied, "Tonight is proving that Gotham needs something darker to protect her. She needs a new hero, a legend that's stronger than I could ever be, a legend that can succeed where I failed." Bruce knew that he was not going to be able to completely save Gotham as always, not without his identity being compromised. That was something he feared the most.

"Don't say things like that," said Nightwing, believing this meant he would be Batman's successor, something he dreaded since his later years as Robin. It was a factor that led Dick to become leader of the Teen Titans and later as Nightwing. "Joker wasn't able to beat you; neither will Scarecrow. Who will protect Gotham if you go down? Tim? Selina?" Batman only looked at his partner with a knowing gaze.

"Tim can handle Blüdhaven," he said, "But that doesn't mean I'm asking you to be my heir." Dick was surprised to hear Bruce say that, it wasn't something he was expecting. Batman then looked directly at Starfire, "I want you to take care of Nightwing. Look after him. He needs you now more than ever." Starfire and Nightwing were both in awe. This of course meant they were free to go back to the Titans, to their family.

"I will not fail you," said Starfire, smiling in admiration, "I am thankful that you were as much as a father to Robin." That was when Batman gave Starfire a comm. link earpiece, shaped like a bat, a sign of his approval.

"I know you won't," he told her as he then smiled at Dick, "Make me proud." Then he took out his grapnel gun and zoomed off into the night, leaving Nightwing, Starfire and Flash in awe.

"I will...Dad," Nightwing muttered, acknowledging the fact that Bruce was the closest thing he ever had to a father after the deaths of his parents. As he turned around, Dick only noticed that it was then just him and Starfire, but he could see Wally speeding off back to Keystone. He couldn't help but chuckle at the sight, "It was good for the three of us to catch up," he told Starfire.

"Indeed, though I believe we will require Flash's help sooner than we may realize," she told him. Though in all honesty, Wally also could tell when Dick and Kori needed their moments alone together, and he always had a busy schedule. "Robin, on our flight over, I could not help but notice a wreck of a ship within the bay, surrounded by the bergs of ice."

"Icebergs in Gotham?" Nightwing asked, but then he instantly made the connection, "Sounds like Mr. Freeze's handiwork. We should probably go check it out." Dick had a feeling that if Victor was involved, it had something to do with Nora. They hadn't been seen since they were released from Arkham City. Starfire picked Nightwing up into her arms and the two flew off back towards the bay...

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A/N: This chapter was pretty long, but I did this because the Killer Croc mission within the game saw Nightwing present throughout the whole thing. So I decided that it'd be a good idea to show what he and Starfire could talk about while getting survivors off the ship. Also, for the fight sequence with Killer Croc, I actually researched different methods for incapacitating alligators and crocodiles. Lastly, Flash will return, I promise.


	7. Chapter 7: A Cold Wind

Nightwing – Arkham Knight

DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING! ALL CHARACTERS BELONG TO DC COMICS. BATMAN - ARKHAMVERSE BELONGS TO DC ENTERTAINMENT, WB ENTERTAINMENT AND ROCKSTEADY GAMES. BATMAN BELONGS TO DC COMICS, BOB KANE AND BILL FINGER. NIGHTWING AND STARFIRE BELONG TO DC COMICS, MARV WOLFMAN AND GEORGE PEREZ.

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Chapter 7: A Cold Wind...

Nightwing and Starfire soon came within sight of the ship as they flew over Miagani Island. As they drew closer to the ship's coordinates in the bay, they could see the very icebergs that surrounded the ship, as well as a military helicopter unloading troops before taking off.

"Those men below do not appear to be American soldiers," said Starfire as she noticed there were no signs that had the U.S. Army logo emblazoned on the helicopter.

"Because they aren't," Nightwing explained, "Those are are the Arkham Knight's militia. They've got the latest military tech and weapons at their disposal, including unmanned drone tanks and aircraft. We gotta be careful." Dick was well in Blüdhaven when the occupation hit Gotham, and he also managed to wait out the Cloudburst from the city rooftops, so he wasn't affected by Scarecrow's fear toxin, but he was well aware that the Arkham Knight's militia answered to Scarecrow.

"I did not know the Island of Arkham was a new kingdom," said Starfire, obviously confused by what her boyfriend meant. Dick couldn't help but chuckle silently, even though the situation was serious, but somewhat fitting given that in Medieval Europe, knights raised their own armies.

"No Starfire, not like in fairy tales," he explained, "That's just his codename. We don't know who this guy is, but he's clearly got a grudge against Batman, and he's working with Scarecrow. That's why we need to keep Gotham safe, so he can focus on stopping the Arkham Knight and Scarecrow." Dick couldn't help but feel that this Arkham Knight figure was someone who was trained well, almost as well as he was.

Kori could see the determination in her boyfriend's eyes; she knew that this was personal for him. She also knew that she couldn't let Batman down on the promise she made to look after Dick.

"Perhaps Mr. Freeze has angered them, yes?" She asked, "From what you have told us years ago, he only wishes to save his beloved wife." Starfire knew what she was talking about, as did Nightwing. When he was still Robin, Dick gave the Titans a full rundown on Batman's rogues' gallery after they fought against Two-Face and Joker. He was afraid that they would have to face more of Batman's villains as a result, so he wasn't taking any chances.

"Only one way to find out," Nightwing replied, "We take them out, quietly and get below deck." He then took out a cryptographic sequencer from his utility belt as they flew in closer. Luckily Bruce copied the codes down for Nightwing as well, on the off chance that Scarecrow sent the Arkham Knight's Militia to capture him in Blüdhaven. "First thing's first, I need to disable that remote control drone," he told Starfire. The Tamaranean princess flew closer while not causing the special ops team to notice, so that Nightwing got close enough and temporarily disabled the drone's line of sight.

The two Titans then made their moves across the ship, taking down whole groups of militia with ambushes, and silently picking off those individuals that remained. Starfire pulled out every trick she learned from the Warlords of Okaara when it came to guerrilla warfare and ambush tactics. In the dark, her glowing green eyes made her seem like some sort of monstrous creature, choosing to hide herself so as to let Nightwing take the victims down via the floor grate of the ship. The Militia Commander was furious from the comm. links, demanding that more men be sent in. However the couple neutralized all the soldiers.

"I do not understand why they wish to fight for such a dishonorable cause," said Starfire as she emerged from an empty hallway aboard the deck, "On my planet, even the bravest of warriors would have considered it a disgrace to serve their commander over a petty grudge." Even though Tamaran was destroyed, she still held her planet's culture and customs in high regard. She looked around, proud of her handiwork before she joined her boyfriend up on the bridge.

"Don't worry, these clorbags are going straight to the G.C.P.D.," Nightwing replied as he disabled a drone operated sentry gun on the bridge. Starfire blushed again as she heard her boyfriend use some of her planet's vocabulary, it touched her that he went out of his way to try and learn her language at least. "Okay, now that the threats are neutralized, all we need now is access to the security controls." Dick took out the cryptographic sequencer and began rotating away at the mess of words on the screen in front of him.

"I am unfamiliar with this device," said Starfire, as she never knew the purpose of most of WayneTech gadgets the Batman Family used, "What do the multiple letters symbolize?"

"If we can try as many words as we can, in theory, one of them could end up being the password," Nightwing explained as he continued rotating his thumbs in different directions, trying every word he could, until finally he found the word they needed. "Cryogenics. That's so like him," Dick muttered, sighing happily as he knew only someone like Mr. Freeze, who was obsessed with finding a cure for his wife, would choose an ice themed password. The ship unlocked and the former Robin grinned at his handiwork. "Alright, let's pay the iceman a visit, shall we?" He asked his girlfriend.

"Indeed we shall," Starfire replied, and the two lovers left the bridge, making their way to the huge platform of ice that surrounded the hull of the ship.

As they entered, they came across the scene of loose electrical wires, ruptured pipes, and ice everywhere, encasing the militia who were unfortunate enough to head below deck. These were all signs that Freeze was nearby. The floor was completely covered in a foot of water.

"They're dead," Nightwing said, examining the militia, "Hit by a combination of frostbite and hypothermia." Dick knew what it was like being frozen alive. When he was still in his early tenure as Robin, he and Batman fought Mr. Freeze once, and while trying to stop him, the boy Wonder was frozen up to his neck. As a result, he had to be thawed out in a special bath in the Batcave.

"I cannot imagine how it feels, trapped within the ice," said Starfire, even though the cold air in the room didn't affect her, given her superhuman homeostasis. As a result, she could survive with what she wore even in subzero climates.

"Victor, what have you done..." Nightwing muttered. He then held Starfire's hand and opened a door leading further inside the ship. More militia frozen in ice were seen, some even having fired their guns as they were frozen alive. They could also hear a computer stating that the cryogenerator aboard the ship was unstable, followed by a familiar voice.

Then Mr. Freeze himself came into view, dropped on his knees. Nightwing and Starfire could see exactly what was the cause of his grief: Nora was gone. Dick knew that Victor cared so much for his wife that he would do anything for her, it was the same way he felt about Kori in a way.

"DAMN!!" Victor yelled, pounding his fists on the ice hard floor. Then he silently wept. "Nora..." he sobbed quietly. He was lost without her, as she was the one thing that kept him going.

"Victor? What happened here?" Nightwing asked as he slowly approached, unsure of whether or not he could be still trusted.

"They tried to recruit me," Freeze explained, "They demanded that I help fight your mentor. I refused, so they took her..." he stood up, enraged as his thermal goggles lowered over his eyes. "They took Nora, because of him!!" He yelled, aiming his cryo-gauntlet at the former Robin. "Without my help, she'll die. However they told me if I brought Batman alive, they'd bring her back." As the gauntlet powered up, Starfire readied a starbolt on her right hand, intent on aiming it at Freeze if he tried as much as to use it on Nightwing.

"You truly wish to save your wife, yes?" Starfire asked, grimly, "If you trust those cowards, then we will have no choice but to fight you." Kori was well aware that Mr. Freeze had a vengeful streak to him, as she saw from the militia he killed. So she wasn't going to let him blame Nora's theft on Batman.

Her words rang true to him. The fire went out of Victor for some time now. He powered down his gauntlet, while his thermal goggles lifted upwards, revealing how sad he'd become.

"Please, save her...save my wife. She's all I have," he begged, then he handed Nightwing a tracking device. "This will lead you to where they're holding her. I placed one on her cryo-chamber, it'll lead you both right to her. You have to get it back here fast, as it's power won't last much longer."

"I promise Victor, we'll find Nora," said Nightwing, nodding in gratitude for the device, "In the meantime, you need to get the ship under control. The last thing we need is more militia reinforcements." Nightwing looked to Starfire and nodded, "Let's go. There isn't much time."

"Then we must proceed with caution," said Starfire with a nod, "I believe the militia will not wish for us to free their hostage." As the two left, Mr. Freeze looked on at the two heroes, holding each other's hand, and deep down within that heart of ice he had, he was reminded of when he first met his own wife.

Nightwing and Starfire flew from the ship back onto Founder's Island. As soon as they neared the coast, Nightwing hit a button on his gauntlet and at the sight of the Wingcycle, he got on, donned his helmet, and was about to zoom off when he noticed Starfire began to fidget with her fingers.

"Robin, I hope I do not seem selfish to ask, but...may I ride with you?" She asked, blushing and looking at her boyfriend with big green puppy dog eyes.

"Sure thing, Star. Hop on," he said and scooted up on the bike. Starfire immediately straddled the bike, then wrapped her arms around Nightwing's waist to hold onto him, once again pressing her massive breasts into him, much to his excitement. "O-Okay, looks like Nora's being held somewhere near the bay in Chinatown," he said, trying to contain his arousal.

"Then that is where we will go," Starfire replied, confident as ever. After meeting Mr. Freeze with her own eyes, she felt bad for all the suffering he endured all just to save the woman he loved. She held her boyfriend's waist tightly as Nightwing revved up the Wingcycle and the two zoomed off into the rainy Gotham night as fast as they could.

Dick was careful to avoid the Arkham Knight's unmanned drone tanks and helicopters, which were prowling the streets and skies of Gotham occasionally. The last thing he wanted was to have to fight them on the vehicle they chose now, since his bike wasn't as powerful as the Nightbird or the Batmobile to take them down. Though he also knew that Kori could definitely have no problem taking them out, and it also meant she didn't need to hold back. There were a few times that the Titans had to face enemies that weren't human, or indeed mechanical, such as Trigon's demonic hordes, or killer robots designed by Mikron O'Jeneus, AKA Gizmo: the Fearsome Five's resident dwarf who could turn anything into a mechanized weapon. In such instances, they were allowed to use lethal force.

They went through Bristol, zooming past the Elliot Memorial Hospital, then through Otisburg, where Starfire noticed one of the giant plants Poison Ivy and Batman woke to help stop the effects of the Cloudburst, then past Drescher, until finally they made it to Chinatown, marked by the neon Mandarin signs and Imperial Chinese architecture. Although it wasn't as on as grand a scale like the ones in New York or San Francisco. As they got closer to where the tracking device led them, Nightwing stopped the bike.

"I've got a lock on the signal," he said, "You were right about this one. Detective vision's picking up 6 militia guarding the area, sounds like they really don't wanna let her go. Though there's not much cover than there was on the ship. They'll be more alert this time."

"Then we must strike hard and fast," Starfire replied, knowing that since they were facing less troops, an ambush could catch the men off guard.

"Sounds like a plan," Nightwing told her, "The ordinary soldiers should be no problem for us, but we'll need to take down the brute together." He took off his helmet, and placed the bike in stealth mode while his Tamaranean girlfriend picked him up in her arms and they flew towards the coordinates. When they were directly above the militia, Nightwing led the attack, leaping down from the stairwell above the guards, and he and Starfire were thus able to take down the 5 ordinary soldiers with relative ease. The militia were already aware of the fact they lost some men on the ship, but now they were frightened and started firing their guns sporadically, but missed as the two Titans took most of them out, till only the brute remained.

"You're mine!" The man roared out as he charged at them with retractable blades emerging from his gauntlets. Unluckily for him, Starfire and Nightwing were both able to dodge the blows as they made their counterattack. Their moves were so perfectly synchronized that it was clear to see how effective they were as a team. Starfire even picked up the sword that the now unconscious combat expert used, demonstrating just how effective she was with such weapons. Though she used the spine of the blade and the pommel in her attacks. Then she and Nightwing both kicked his solar plexus and elbowed him in the face, and the brute was out cold.

"That is what happens when they face a princess of Tamaran," Starfire declared victoriously, squeezing Nightwing's hand tightly after setting the sword down.

"This is where the signal led us, but I don't see Nora's cryo-chamber," said Nightwing as he looked around. All he could see was a giant container with a skull logo on it, and icicles forming on the sides. He flipped it open, only to find the other tracker and nothing but a ton of ice. "A decoy, and we fell for it," he told Starfire. They needed a lead on where Nora was and soon. That was when one of the militia began stirring back to his senses. Starfire saw this and made her way towards the man, grabbing him by the collar.

"You will tell us the location of Nora Fries," she demanded, her eyes glowing green to intimidate him.

"I ain't telling you squat, lady!" The soldier taunted back. That was when Nightwing approached, with one of his escrima sticks in his hand.

"Hmm. I thought you'd say that," said the former Robin, grinning mischievously, "Look at it this way: either you tell us the location, or my girlfriend here gives you 3rd degree burns." Starfire immediately readied a starbolt in her free hand, playing along with Nightwing's methods.

"Okay! Okay! Th-They took her to a c-construction site in Otisburg. They've got snipers all around, you can't miss it. That's all I know, I swear!" The soldier stuttered, terrified for his life. This was the first time he encountered a Tamaranean, so he didn't know what Starfire was capable of.

"A wise choice. Your cooperation shall be rewarded with rest," she told him, and knocked him out with a soft headbutt. "Robin, we must hurry," Starfire told her boyfriend, who promptly brought in the Nightbird for the job. She then climbed into the cockpit with him, and the two drove off back to Otisburg.

"Victor, the tracking device was a decoy," Nightwing told Freeze on his comm. link, "We're getting closer to where they're holding her though. How's the ship's tech coming along? Is the cryo-generator stabilized?" Dick knew that Victor was worried about Nora, but he could not let his emotions cloud his judgement.

"Just about. Contact me when you find her," Freeze replied, relieved to hear that he would soon be with his wife again.

"Understood, Nightwing out," said the former Robin, and ended the transmission. He couldn't help but think about how Starfire was able to track him down just moments earlier. "Hey, Star? I'm curious, how were you able to find me while Penguin held me hostage?" He asked.

"I was able to drop the eaves on two criminals who were in the employ of the man they called, the Penguin," she said, "That is how I learned that you had been captured. After I defeated them, one of them told me of where you had been held as their prisoner." A thought then struck her, "It was not too different from when I was held as a prisoner on Okaara, correct?" Dick knew that Kori was referring to when Blackfire took her captive to be tortured by the Citadel as originally intended, and the Teen Titans rescued her with the help of the Omega Men, an intergalactic superhero team residing in the Vega System. He remembered how angry he felt when he saw her unconscious and beaten, and how bravely he fought to save her, for that was the moment where their romance began for the first time.

"You wouldn't be wrong there," he replied with a chuckle, "Only I was the one held hostage this time." The two Titans laughed happily as they recalled that moment, but Starfire couldn't help but think of how she really wanted for Nightwing to marry her. This was her deepest desire, and now that she was living on Earth she hoped that day would come soon. Unbeknownst to her, Dick was thinking the same thing. He was really glad for having kept that diamond ring after he threw out everything else that was connected to Barbara from his apartment, but he knew now was not the time to pop the question.

Soon they arrived at the construction site the soldier told them about, and flew up to a nearby rooftop, examining the situation from a nearby gargoyle. Snipers were stationed on three scaffold points, while a medic and 7 soldiers inspected the area, and in the center was Nora's cryo-chamber, damaged somewhat from the extraction.

"We'll need to take out the snipers first," Nightwing whispered, "If they see us, it'll alert the others where we are. Once they're taken care of, we can take out the rest of the militia."

"I will try not to use my starbolts," Starfire told her boyfriend, "We do not wish to damage the container of ice any further." With each other's acknowledgement, the two Titans made their move. Nightwing silently took down the snipers without so much as alerting them with a knockout smash. As she waited, Starfire overheard the militia talk about how they were dreading facing Mr. Freeze head on, and how they believed the decoy they set up made sure nobody knew they were here. She silently giggled, knowing that they were wrong about that.

"Okay Star, go for it!" Nightwing whispered to her via his comm. link, and with that, the Tamaranean princess flew from her hiding place, and with Nightwing helping her, began picking off the militia one by one, until only 5 men remained. The two Titans then struck hard and fast once again, frightening the militia as they tried to put up a resistance, but to no avail. "Nice work sweetie," Nightwing complimented.

"Thank you, now we must investigate the chamber. Nora's life is at stake," she told him as they made their way towards Nora's cryo-chamber. Wiping away the condensation on the window, they could see inside was a beautiful young woman around their age, with long blonde hair, fair skin and wearing a sleeveless blue summer dress. She wore purple earrings and a dragonfly necklace as well. It was Nora Fries. "She is beautiful," Starfire remarked, "I am able to understand why Mr. Freeze loves her." However before they could secure the device, the cryo-chamber automatically deactivated after having been disconnected from the cryo-generator for too long. With a gasp of air, Nora woke up from her 20 year long slumber, her deep blue eyes were wide with shock.

"She's awake! Star, we need to get her out of there," said Nightwing, knowing that this wasn't a good sign. He and Starfire pulled the door open and caught Nora as she collapsed from fatigue. Nightwing and Starfire sat her up underneath the scaffolding where one of the snipers was positioned, so as to get her out of the rain. She awoke to notice her surroundings, and both Titans watching over her. "Easy, you'll be fine," Nightwing told her, reassuringly.

"Nightwing?" Nora asked, shocking them both with the fact she knew who he was, "Thank you...both of you," she then said, smiling weakly at them. She was grateful to them for saving her life. Nora then had a coughing fit from her illness, the reason why Victor froze her in the first place. Though she took one look at Starfire and tilted her head in confusion. Despite the fact she could tell she was also a hero, she was a bit puzzled, having never encountered a Tamaranean before. "Sorry but, I don't think I've heard about you before."

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Freeze," Starfire replied, "I am Starfire, princess of the planet Tamaran...and I am Robin's girlfriend." She blushed as she instinctively held Nightwing's arm. Kori was always this nervous when bringing up how she and Dick were a couple. Nora however was shocked that this young woman was not only Nightwing's girlfriend, but an alien princess. Though she was equally shocked by Starfire's choice of outfit and bust size.

"Your husband sent us to find you," Nightwing explained, "Try not to move around too much."

"For how long? Another 2 decades?" Nora asked jokingly, once again shocking the two heroes.

"Wait, you know how long you've been frozen for?!" Nightwing asked. Neither he nor Starfire weren't expecting this at all.

"Yes...It was like one big dream," Nora told them, "...But I could hear Victor speaking to me." Her thoughts then returned to her husband.

"Then you know of what he has become, yes?" Starfire asked, concerned that the woman was ready for what happened to Victor. Nora only nodded, indicating she was aware.

"Where is he?" She asked, concerned about his safety. Yet before either hero could answer, Nightwing checked his gauntlet communicator and a hologram of Freeze came up.

"Nightwing, what happened?" Freeze asked, "Where's Nora? Is she safe? Is she alright?" Dick could tell Victor was increasingly worried. He looked at Starfire and they both nodded about the next choice of words.

"We found her, Victor," he began, "But the cryo-chamber's been deactivated; she's awake." He watched as Victor's face showed intense fear.

"No! Quickly, you two have to bring her back now!" Victor frantically told the former Robin. Instantly Dick could tell that the expression of fear in his face and voice wasn't easy to fake, especially for a man who claimed to be dead to emotion.

"Wait, let me talk to him," said Nora, knowing well what she wanted to say to her husband. Starfire brought over the laptop from the boxes near the cryo-chamber for her, while Nightwing patched into the ship's computer. Husband and wife only looked upon each other. "Vic? Honey?" Nora asked.

"Nora?  Nora, don't worry, I can still save you," said Victor as he tried to reassure her all would be okay.  However, the look on Nora's face said it all, she wanted to be free from being frozen.  "Once you're back, I'll put you back into stasis."  

"Honey...please, don't do this..." Nora begged, while in the background, the cryo-generator was rejecting Victor's attempts to repair it, and the signal between them was breaking up.  

"Nora, I promise that I'll save you.  I'm so close," Victor told his wife, eager to find a cure for her, "If my theory's correct, then..." he didn't finish.  

"Will you just please listen to me for once!?"  Nora shouted, as tears streamed down her face, "I don't want you to do this...not anymore..."  She had enough of being frozen for nearly a quarter of a century.  She wanted to enjoy what time she had left with her husband.  

"Freeze, the generator!"  Nightwing pointed out, fearing the worst.  

"But you'll die..." Victor told her sadly, but then the signal was cut off, leaving only static followed by a black screen.  

"Victor?  Darling?!"  Nora asked, growing increasingly worried.  Just then, in the distance, a muffled boom was heard coming from the shore.  The air also began to get colder, to the point where they could see each other's breath.  

"Um...Robin?"  Starfire asked, pointing to the direction of the bay.  Nightwing and Nora turned around, and saw a huge icy explosion emanating from the bay envelop the city, causing the rain to freeze over, and the whole city and surrounding area was covered in a thick blanket of snow and ice.  

"No...Victor..." Nora whispered before finally breaking down into tears, believing her husband to be dead, and held both heroes close to herself.  Starfire and Nightwing both were shocked, as they too thought Victor was killed in the explosion.  However, their trains of thought were soon shattered when the Militia communications opened up.  Dick was thankful that before she'd been captured by the Arkham Knight, Barbara was able to hack into the Militia's communications channel, that way the entire Batman family could eavesdrop on what the soldiers' next moves were.  

"There's a massive explosion in the bay!  Send in the drones!  That iceman's up to something!"  The sergeant yelled out to all his troops.  Nora looked up as she felt some hope that her husband was still alive.  

"He's in trouble, we've got to help him!"  Nora pleaded.  Nightwing and Starfire both looked at each other and nodded their heads.  Mr. Freeze was a villain, yes, but he was now more of an ally.  From helping Batman in Arkham City to working with them even now.  

"You are able to stand, yes?"  Starfire asked as she and Nightwing each offered Nora their hand.  

"I think so," Nora replied as she weakly stood to her feet.  She was still shaking from fatigue, but not as weary as she'd been before.  Nightwing once again pressed the central button on his utility belt, so that the Nightbird was able to pull up to their location on the ground level, near a local church.  Making their way downstairs, and out to the street, they could tell this snow wasn't ever going to melt at least until spring.  As they made their way towards the car, they could see military helicopters flying towards the bay, laden with the Arkham Knight's drones.  "Please hurry," she told them as the passenger door of the Nightbird opened up for her and she got inside. 

"Don't worry, we will," Nightwing replied, then as soon as he and Starfire got into the cockpit together, they zoomed off into the night.  All over the roads, there were tall glacial walls, which gave the feel of an arctic themed water slide, and some had huge ice spikes that Nightwing carefully avoided.  "Victor, do you copy?  The militia are on their way to your location.  Weigh anchor and set sail now."

"No!  The cryo-generator may still be salvageable.  I won't let Nora die!"  Victor protested, "I'll hold off as many as I can."  Mr. Freeze wasn't about to let the Arkham Knight's drones interfere with years of research that he worked so hard for.  As the transmission ended, Nightwing was left frustrated, but knew he couldn't just let an old foe-turned-ally defenseless.  Just then, Alfred, who'd been observing the Militia reports from the Batcave, called in on the comm. link.

"Sir, Freeze's ship is under heavy fire.  Reinforcements are on their way," said the Englishman.  

"Roger that, we're on our way now.  Nightwing out," replied Nightwing, knowing that this was what Batman would do.  Even though Dick swore he'd never be like Bruce, there were times that he had to, and now was one of them.  Just then an ingenious thought struck him as he glanced at Starfire, who just held on tightly to the front seat.  "Starfire, I've got an idea," he said, "The Arkham Knight's tanks are unmanned, so there's no need to hold back.  I'll provide ground support, but you think you may wanna really let loose?"  Dick knew exactly what he was doing.  Having known Kori since their teenage years, he knew that she could fly faster than the speed of light, was durable enough to survive in space without oxygen, and on top of that her starbolts were hot enough to melt most metals.  

"I am more than willing to show my true potential," she said eagerly.  Up till now, she was holding back, but now she could really display what she was truly capable of, and that was why it was dangerous to underestimate her in a fight.  

"Thanks babe.  When I give the signal, you can show them what you're made of," he said, grinning back at her.  The two Titans knew that the drones were no match for the two of them.  They soon found themselves nearing an ice cliff as they reached Bristol.  Dick propelled in the afterburner, and the Nightbird boosted into a ramp-less jump.  Nora and Starfire both held on tightly to the support handles above them as they braced for impact.  Though the car landed smoothly on the opposite glacier, since Dick knew what he was doing, since he knew how to drive well before he was able to get his driver's license.  Although he always preferred motorcycles for the combination of speed and maneuverability, which was well suited for his fighting style. 

They zoomed past Bristol, making a sharp right turn towards a huge glacier overlooking the bay, bursting through two wrought iron gates and then using the glacier as a ramp, the Nightbird jumped straight into the action.  A thick sheet of sea ice covered Gotham Bay, allowing the militia's 17 drones to deploy without sinking.  Mr. Freeze stood tall at the ship's bow, already unleashing his new cryo-gauntlets on the drones.  When the Nightbird finally landed on the ice, Nightwing knew it was time. 

"Nightwing, the two of you have to stop them!"  Mr. Freeze told the former Robin, "I need more time to repair the cryo-generator.  It's the only way I can save Nora!"  

"Way ahead of you!"  Nightwing replied, then ended the transmission as he turned to his girlfriend, "Okay Star, let 'em have it!"  He told her, implying that was the signal.  Starfire kissed him softly before winking as the cockpit opened.  Then she flew out at top speed before it closed again to enter battle mode.  With flawless form, the Tamaranean princess swooped down upon the tanks, releasing barrage after barrage of her starbolts with pinpoint accuracy, even firing them from her eyes, much like Kryptonian heat vision.    

On the sea ice, the Nightbird was set into battle mode, complete with similar weapons tech to the Batmobile, in that it had a similarly styled Vulcan gun, 60 mm. cannon and riot suppressor.  Dick preferred not to use battle mode all too often, but Bruce advised him to do so in case he was way in over his head.  He fired off round after round from the cannon, even counter-detonating any missiles the drones launched at them.  Freeze wasn't shy from the fight as well, using his cryo-gauntlets to create massive ice spikes that took out any drone on the ground.  The drones exploded in blazes of purple or green from cannon shell and starbolt alike, or from being torn apart by the ice, until all 17 tanks were destroyed.   Yet before they could celebrate their victory, another transport helicopter appeared coming towards the bay.  

"Robin, it appears the militia have summoned reinforcements.  The ice of the sea will hold, yes?"  Starfire asked, as she was the one who saw the helicopters coming from where she was floating.  

"Yeah, but not for long," said Nightwing, knowing that not even they could keep on fighting like this forever.  Then an idea struck him, "Freeze, you may not like this, but if you detonate the cryo-generator, you can take the drones out in one shot."  

"No!  I can't!  I need it to cure Nora!"  Freeze replied, still proving stubborn as ever.  Even he knew the sea ice wasn't going to last much longer, but he was reluctant to lose the woman he loved.  

"It's okay, honey, I want you to do it," said Nora, trying to get through to her husband.  "Right now, I need you to be my knight in shining armor.  Please..."  However Victor remained silent, struggling between the choice of saving the cryo-generator, or saving Nora from being killed.  Just at that moment, the second wave of militia drones appeared in full view, their weapons aimed at the Nightbird.  

"Victor do you copy!?"  Nightwing asked as he began firing cannon shots once again, avoiding any coming towards the car.  Starfire unleashed more starbolts down upon the drones, staggering her position so that the drones occasionally destroyed themselves via friendly fire.  However even she couldn't keep up for much longer and she knew it.  This was a battle that was increasingly going uphill.  

"Robin, hurry!  There is not much time!"  Starfire shouted over the roar of missile fire and explosions.  She wasn't about to give up so easily, but she knew she was getting tired.  Yet despite their best efforts, the drones continued to come in full force, their numbers just kept being replenished.  

"Victor, do it!  Blow them out of the water, now!!  Victor!?"  Nightwing yelled into the comm. link, angry that they'd been backed into a corner and surrounded.  No way was he going to die before he and Starfire could call it a night.  Finally, after an intense internal battle, Mr. Freeze finally relented.  

"Forgive me..." he muttered, and with one press of the button on his gauntlet, the cryo-generator detonated, blowing the drones completely out of the water as the sea ice cracked apart.  Luckily Alfred called in the Batwing to pick up the Nightbird before it had the chance to sink beneath the waves.  As it lowered towards the ship, both Nora and Nightwing successfully set foot aboard the deck, watching as the sea ice broke up.  

"We have done it!" Starfire exclaimed as she felt her boyfriend hug her tightly.  She only returned the embrace, glad to see the man she loved still alive and in one piece.  

"Yeah, we pulled it off, Star," he replied happily, never wanting to let her go.  Even though the plan was crazy, it worked somehow once again.  The two Titans only looked on in their embrace as Nora approached a melancholic Mr. Freeze.  

"All my work, the equipment, the research...it's gone," he told his wife, "I failed you..." However, Nora smiled happily as she placed her hand on her husband's dome.  

"Victor, tonight you were my hero," she replied, "I can't just sit back while you destroy yourself...I wish I could've told you sooner."  She was really intent on living out what little time she had left on this earth with her husband, even though he was trying to help her.  

"I don't want to lose you, Nora..." he told her as he shook his head, "Maybe there's another way..." but before Nora could protest, a thought struck Nightwing.  

"I think maybe there just might," said the former Robin, "I know a few people at Wayne Enterprises who've been working on an experimental cure for Huntington's Chorea without using cryogenic freezing chambers.  I'll see if I could put in a good word for the two of you."  Dick wasn't lying on that matter, he knew that Bruce's father, Thomas Wayne was a doctor, and Wayne Enterprises' biotech branch had been working on a vaccine for some time.  This revelation stunned Victor and Nora, and gave them hope that not only would Nora be able to keep on living, but she herself would still be able to live her life with her husband.  They only looked at each other with a mutual nod confirming their choice.  

"Thank you Nightwing, we'll certainly consider that option," said Victor, glad that he would get to spend his life with Nora, even though he could still not survive out of a subzero environment.  He held Nora's hand and opened his dome helmet as they looked out at the icebergs falling apart in the bay from the shockwave of the blast.  The snow continued falling, as a welcome change from the pouring rain.  

"Robin..." Starfire happily muttered, genuinely touched by her boyfriend's decision to help those in need.  It was this kindhearted nature of his that she was drawn towards, his willingness to help others, just like he helped her when she first arrived on Earth.  She picked him up in her arms, and together the two flew back towards Founder's Island.  The Batwing placed the Nightbird parked on a side-street near where they landed.  As they looked back towards the bay, they could see the ship setting sail into the night.  "Perhaps we should ask Alfred to monitor them, yes?"  Starfire asked, wondering what to do next since Freeze didn't prove hostile.  

"Don't worry Star," said Nightwing, smiling as he wrapped his arm around her waist, "I've got a feeling this city won't be seeing them again.  Although...how about we take a break so you can rest up and recover from that fight?"  At that notion, Kori had a seductive look on her face.  

"I could not agree more," she said as she followed him into the Nightbird's passenger section.  She definitely had some idea of what Dick had in mind, and it meant she could recharge her powers for a while, and make good on that promise for some fun she suggested earlier.  For now, at least, they earned a short break.  

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A/N:  Okay, so first off, there will be some lemon scenes between Nightwing and Starfire in the story, just so everyone is warned.  I probably should've mentioned this earlier, but I'm pretty bad about that.  This also brings up my next point which I'm sure many of you are wondering.  The reason Starfire refers to Nightwing as "Robin" is because that's how she knows him, and she also calls him that out of affection.  

Now, I also went ahead and changed Nora's fate from what it was in the game to having her be treated by Wayne Enterprises as a reference to one of my favorite DCAU movies, Batman & Mr. Freeze: Subzero.  I won't reveal any further spoilers for those of you who haven't seen the movie.  I also decided to have it keep snowing in Gotham rather than having the weather revert back to rain, since I loved how it was snowing in Gotham when I played Arkham City.  Plus it would also give off an Arkham Origins kind of feel, without the high winds.    

Anyway, that's it for this chapter guys!  Please follow and leave a review if you like the story so far!  


	8. Chapter 8: Rest and Recuperatipn

Nightwing – Arkham Knight

 **DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING! ALL CHARACTERS BELONG TO DC COMICS. BATMAN - ARKHAMVERSE BELONGS TO DC ENTERTAINMENT, WB ENTERTAINMENT AND ROCKSTEADY GAMES. BATMAN BELONGS TO DC COMICS, BOB KANE AND BILL FINGER. NIGHTWING AND STARFIRE BELONG TO DC COMICS, MARV WOLFMAN AND GEORGE PEREZ.**

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Chapter 8: Rest and Recuperation

Almost instantly as they were all alone together in the car, Nightwing turned on the headlights so they could have some visibility other than just the street lighting. As the Batman Family were allies of Superman, Dick decided to retrofit the interior of the Nightbird with specially designed solar-powered lights just in case. Yet now they were a big help in this situation, given Kori's Tamaranean physiology. He could see the droplets of water and snowflakes dotting her smooth bright orange skin. Instantly he felt her pulling him in close before she kissed him deeply on the lips, running her hands through his long black hair. He hadn't forgotten how wonderful it felt when they kissed, and how intense it was, since all Tamaraneans have long lizard-like tongues.

"I missed you so much," he said as he locked eyes with her, "I even once dreamed that you'd show up at the Manor for Christmas last year." Dick hadn't forgotten the time when he once took Kori over to Wayne Manor one December early on in his tenure as Nightwing for one of Bruce's Christmas parties, not long after the death of Jason Todd. That was when she met Tim Drake for the first time, whom she got along with just fine. That was about the only time she came close to Gotham though, since he and Bruce weren't on the friendliest of terms. Starfire only blushed and smiled at the thought of spending Christmas with her boyfriend again.

"I cannot wait to spend Christmas with you once more," she happily replied, then glanced up at the snowfall, "Perhaps this year, we will finally receive snow, yes?" She then asked, knowing that it was impossible, but she could at least hope for it. Dick couldn't help but smile, remembering how near the end of the Teen Titans' first year together, Kori decided to have a small Christmas party after he was depressed about not being with his surrogate family that year.

"We'll see," said Nightwing as he pulled her in, returning the kiss just as deeply and passionately. He could feel her tongue sliding into his mouth as they both closed their eyes. He could feel her breasts pressing into his hard and chiseled body she pushed herself up against the back of the passenger booth and even wrapped one of her legs around his left hip. Starfire moaned into the kiss as she felt Nightwing grab her ass cheeks and began kneading them. Pretty soon, she began grinding into him as he in turn pushed her onto her back and began fondling her chest.

"You could not resist, yes?" She asked, happily. Kori knew that Dick would immediately go for her boobs, given how he was always aroused when they touched his body, even when he was still Robin. She didn't even wear a bra at all, since she felt it was too confining and restrictive. Given her superhuman strength and durability, this meant that she didn't have any back or shoulder pain because of her huge chest. Barbara even admitted she was jealous of the fact that Starfire was bustier than she was. Immediately Nightwing felt his crotch grow tighter as a distinct bulge formed near his girlfriend's damp nether regions. "Robin, we still have time. Perhaps we could enjoy ourselves for one moment more, yes?" Starfire asked as she noticed her boyfriend's bulging crotch.

"W-Well, I suppose we could, but..." Nightwing began, but then he trailed off. He was just so aroused by the fact of having the time of his life with Starfire, that he nearly forgot about saving Gotham so Batman could focus on stopping Scarecrow and the Arkham Knight. He then shook his head and regained his wits, "...Oh man, Kori you're really making it hard for me to say no." At seeing his flustered reaction, Starfire giggled happily.

"Then perhaps when we return home, might you wish to make love?" She then asked. Dick's eyes nearly bulged out of his head when she popped that question. However, she was his first in so many ways. He knew that having sex with her was like no other feeling he ever felt from another woman.

"You took the words right out of my mouth, honey," he said, smiling at her, seductively as he kissed her again, and they just lay there in the booth, cuddled up together like they never broke up before. His thoughts then returned to moving back in with her to Titans Tower, as it meant they'd probably just share a room together now that they were a couple. Of course, it'd mean having to decide what furniture from his apartment in Blüdhaven would come with him, and what he'd have to donate or sell. Then something else struck him. "Uh, Star? I know that you lost your planet, but...before you were exiled, did you have anything from Tamaran you wanted to take with you back to the Tower?" He asked, unsure if she'd take it well. Kori only nodded happily, much to his surprise.

"Indeed," she said, "Before I was exiled, I had managed to obtain seeds from the local vegetation on Tamaran. I had hoped that we may wish to plant them in the garden, near the pool of swimming." Nightwing felt a bit more relieved. He definitely remembered the tropical vegetation of Tamaran and how beautiful it was. Given California's Mediterranean climate, they would definitely thrive in Jump City.

"Once we've moved back in the tower, I'll make sure it's one of our top priorities," said Nightwing, "Though, what happened after you were forced to leave Tamaran?" He then asked. He wanted to know what his girlfriend had been up to and how she knew of her homeworld's destruction. He wanted to talk with her about this so that she was okay emotionally. They both knew that apart from sunlight, Tamaranean powers were affected by emotions.

"After I was banished from my planet, I began to wander the vast reaches of space," she explained, "For a while, I was granted shelter among the Warlords of Okaara. They allowed me to stay on their planet in return for training young nobles of my galaxy, as they once trained me when I was small." She hung her head and tried her best to keep her composure, "I witnessed the destruction in the sky one night...I lost myself in what appeared to be an endless grief. I began to experience the doubt of myself; I did not believe that I was able to be a hero if I could not save my people from certain death...". Starfire took deep breaths to calm herself down and then smiled at her boyfriend. "Yet then I realized, that I did not lose everything...my thoughts then returned to our friends and especially of you. It was then that I decided that I would return to Earth, my true home."

Nightwing was saddened at the fact that the woman he loved was alone for months, as a year on Tamaran was 109 Earth years. Yet he was happy that she returned to Earth because of the memories she had with the Titans, and especially of him.

"I'm glad that we'll be staying with the Titans for a long time," he said, cupping her cheek in his free hand while he intertwined his leg with her own.

"Yes, and perhaps one day I too shall have the ending of happiness," she replied, implicating that she was hoping for something more with him. "How is Blüdhaven? It is not as horrible as Gotham, correct?" She then asked.

"It's got its own ups and downs," said Nightwing, "For one, it doesn't rain as much as in Gotham, the boardwalk's really the best place to hang out on a Saturday night, though when I first got there the city was worse than Gotham..." Dick went on to explain how he went to Blüdhaven to investigate a series of gang murders only just 2 years ago and since then became the city's hero, ending the reign of her resident crime boss Roland Desmond, AKA Blockbuster: a criminal mastermind who was every bit as strong and smart as Bane. This led to Nightwing working with former enemies he faced as Batman's partner, not unlike with the Titans. "...of course, it's nothing like it was fighting alongside our friends," he said, "I could show you around while we move out, if you want. The city's much safer now since I've come."

"Oh yes! Please! I would be most happy to see Blüdhaven!" Starfire replied happily, knowing that she'd be spending a few nights with him there while they moved back into Titans Tower. Then of course they had to do one last sweep of the city as well, so that Tim could ease into his role as Blüdhaven's guardian protector, even if it included making her debut on the East Coast.

"Okay, then the sooner we help out, the sooner we can get there," he replied with a chuckle as he then sat up and checked in with Alfred for a status update. "Hey Alfred, what's the status on Gotham's Most Wanted?" He asked his surrogate grandfather.

"Well there's been a report of a robbery at the Bank of Gotham in Kingston; the largest in Gotham," replied the faithful English butler, "Surveillance footage confirms that the suspects are working under Two-Face. It seems Mr. Dent has misplaced his coin, hasn't he? There's also reports from militia communications of a bat creature flying across Miagani Island. Master Bruce has linked the creature to the blood sample you'll find near the dashboard."

"And here I thought Bruce was the only giant bat creature Gotham had," Dick replied, "Whose blood is it?" He then asked.

"Well, it belongs, partially to a Dr. Kirk Langstrom," Alfred explained, "He and his wife lease a basement laboratory in Chinatown. You and Lady Starfire may want to go there for any clues." Dick knew exactly who to go after first. Two-Face was just as dangerous as Joker and Penguin combined, and it was time to remind him of his fight against the Titans.

"This bat monster can wait Alfred," said Dick, "Two-Face is the bigger danger. We'll put a stop to whatever he's up to for good." Starfire even nodded in approval. She knew that when Dick was still Robin, Two-Face brutally beat him to a bloody pulp once which seriously traumatized him, so she swore to never forgive Harvey Dent for what he did to her boyfriend.

"Right you are, sir," Alfred replied, and ended the transmission. Nightwing saw the look in Starfire's eyes and couldn't help but admire how she wanted to help face the villain who nearly killed him head on. The two Titans made it to the front section of the car, Nightwing placing the blood sample in his second left pocket in his utility belt.

"Ready for this, Star?" He asked her, remembering how the Titans' fight against Two-Face went down last time. Back then, Dent tried to blow up both Jump City and San Francisco after he was forced out of Gotham and decided to start on the West Coast.

"It has been too long since I have fought the man of two faces," Starfire replied, "I am more than ready to face him again." She smiled at her boyfriend and kissed him softly as she snuggled up to him in her seat.

"Then let's go!" He exclaimed, and the Nightbird sped off into the snowy night. Nightwing and Starfire were ready to fight Two-Face once again!

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A/N: Now, for those of you who aren't already aware, in the original _Teen Titans_ comics from the 60's, Two-Face did end up fighting the Titans once, since his "daughter", Duela Dent, AKA Harlequin/ Joker's Daughter was a member of the Titans. Plus in the comics, Two-Face nearly killed Dick once in his early career as Robin, so I also wanted to give some symbolic justice. Also, later on in the storyline, we just might see She-Bat. :)


	9. Chapter 9: Titans VS Two-Face, Round Two

Nightwing – Arkham Knight

 **DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING! ALL CHARACTERS BELONG TO DC COMICS. BATMAN - ARKHAMVERSE BELONGS TO DC ENTERTAINMENT, WB ENTERTAINMENT AND ROCKSTEADY GAMES. BATMAN BELONGS TO DC COMICS, BOB KANE AND BILL FINGER. NIGHTWING AND STARFIRE BELONG TO DC COMICS, MARV WOLFMAN AND GEORGE PEREZ.**

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Chapter 9: Titans VS Two-Face, Round Two

The Nightbird moved across the snowy roads of Gotham with such speed, passing through the different districts across Miagani Island. In the skies above, they could see what little air drones remained, and the bombs in the road had been all but disarmed and neutralized, but there were militia checkpoints and watchtowers still in the area, and the Militia lieutenants on the roads. It was definitely a good sign, as it meant Bruce made a dent in the Militia's activities tonight.

As they entered Grand Avenue, they passed Pauli's Diner, where Scarecrow caused the panic and evacuation just a day earlier, and there were the many neon lights and billboards of the malls and shopping centers across town, including a promo for Johnny Charisma, a big time singer who had such a terrible voice. Dick knew though that he was one of a handful of victims who were left untreated with the Joker's TITAN infected blood running through their veins. However, he was unaware that Charisma was killed after Harley Quinn tried to break them out.

"Okay, we're coming up on Kingston," he said, the Gotham bank coming into view. It was pretty big, as one could plainly see, and that made it an enticing target. "Batman's stopped two of these attempts so far, so when the alarm goes silent, then so will we." Starfire nodded as they got out of the car and entered the bank. As soon as they were inside, however, the sound of explosions caused the alarms to go off, blaring loudly as two garbage trucks slammed into the bank doors. The two then flew up to a ram grotesque above them

"Shall we?" Starfire asked happily from her position with an eager grin. She was pumped up to take down Two-Face once again, partially to see how shocked he'd be to face her once again.

"After you, my most beautiful princess," Nightwing replied, causing her to blush so brightly her face turned red. Then, from out of the shadows, Nightwing and Starfire made their attack, hitting Two-Face's thugs hard and fast. As Batman found out earlier, their attacks were silenced over the noise of the alarms. Then Two-Face's voice came over the intercom.

"You shouldn't have interfered Batman..." he said, mistaking the two for Bruce, "...We were gonna spare you...but the coin had other plans!" This reminded Starfire of just how demented Harvey Dent really was, and how dangerous it made him.

"He's just a man! Kill him!!" Two-Face told his goons as Nightwing and Starfire knew they had to remain silent. Of course, Dick wasn't playing any tricks with Dent, after that near death changed his outlook on crime fighting. The two continued to come at the thugs hard and fast, until when they were all beaten, the alarm silenced.

"Star, follow me!" Nightwing whispered, and the two heroes quickly made their way into a floor grate. It was definitely a tight squeeze, like in a vent, and they could both feel each other's bodies pressing into each other. As tempting as it was for the two to resume where they left off in the Nightbird, they soon heard the familiar voice of Two-Face breaking the silence, and from the footsteps surrounding him, he was accompanied by some of the Arkham Knight's militia.

"Get the hell outta here you idiots!!" Two-Face shouted at his army of thugs, and as soon as the remaining thugs were out, the security doors to the bank closed. "Heads you win, tails you loose Bats...and these guys will make sure of it!" Harvey then flipped his signature coin into the air, and when it landed into his hand, it came up scarred side. "We want his head on a plate!" Nightwing could understand how bad things got for Harvey...

When he was still just a child acrobat in Haly's Circus, Harvey Dent was once one of Batman's oldest allies, especially since he held a grudge against Gotham's then most powerful crime lord, Carmine Falcone. Shortly after the death of Gillian Loeb, then the commissioner of the GCPD, and James Gordon's promotion to commissioner, Dent, Gordon and Batman formed a pact that they would allow themselves to bend the rules in their crusade to bring Falcone to justice. This in turn coincided with a series of murders against all Carmine Falcone's associates and allies, by a criminal who called himself "Holiday": an event that was still known in Gotham as "The Long Halloween". Many suspected it was Julian Day, AKA Calendar Man, but in reality it was Carmine's good son, Alberto. Regardless, the killings forced Falcone to hire the aid of criminals like Poison Ivy, Scarecrow, Mad Hatter and the Riddler in an attempt to stop Batman, but the Falcones realized too late that the psychopaths were more uncontrollable than they realized. In the chaos, Harvey Dent was splashed with acid during a trial linked to the Holiday Murders, and went completely insane. Reborn as Two-Face, he killed Carmine with two bullets to the head, and from there went down a downward spiral. Two years later, a series of killings of close allies of Harvey Dent happened across Gotham, all caused by a criminal called "The Hangman". They were similarly carried out on holidays, but Alberto Falcone was placed under house arrest after being found criminally insane and spending a few months at Arkham Asylum.

In the carnage that followed, two of the victims were Dick's parents. An associate of the Falcone Family, Tony Zucco threatened Haly's Circus for protection money for using the circus trucks as part of a drug trafficking ring he and his partner Eddie Skeevers had in mind. When Jack Haly, the ringmaster and owner of the circus refused, Zucco killed Dick's parents. The trauma caused Bruce to adopt Dick, who was only 9 years old at the time, as a surrogate son. He saw a bit of himself in the boy, and was lucky to have Alfred to guide him through those dark days after the deaths of Thomas and Martha Wayne. Bruce knew that Dick deserved the same. However, this eventually led to Dick discovering Batman's identity and the fact that Zucco killed his parents, and it was what ultimately led him to get directly involved in the Hangman Killings by becoming Robin. The first confrontation he had against Two-Face was on the infamous "Columbus Day massacre", in which Two-Face and several other Arkham inmates killed off several of the Falcone Family's associates, and Two-Face himself killed the Hangman, revealed to be Carmine's vengeful daughter, Sofia Falcone. After this, the psychopaths found the secret entrance to the Batcave, forcing both Batman and Robin to take them down. That was Dick's first encounter with Two-Face, who was about to declare victory in the war, but Joker stole his thunder. Robin in turn knocked Joker out mid-sentence, an act that Batman praised him for.

However, the Dynamic Duo soon were captured by Two-Face while trying to save Lawrence Watkins, the judge who oversaw and presided over the appeal trial of Salvatore Maroni, the crime boss who gave rise to Two-Face during the later months of the Long Halloween by dousing the left side of Harvey Dent's face with sulfuric acid. Two-Face then placed both Watkins and Batman in a custom-built double gallows trap, forcing Robin to appeal for their lives. Dick made the case that if Two-Face's coin came up clean, then both men would live. Two-Face flipped his coin twice, and both results were in the Boy Wonder's favor, but when the former D.A. cut Watkins loose, he revealed a trapdoor over the judge's gallows that dropped him into a tank of water, forcing him to drown. Dick was completely traumatized by the judge's death, so much that Two-Face then beat him to a bloody pulp with a baseball bat. Though Batman did save his surrogate son and brought him to the Batcave to be healed, a rift was formed between the two of them. Bruce forbade Dick to be Robin for a time, he blamed himself for what happened and vowed that he would never endanger another young partner. Dick left for the first time shortly thereafter, determined to make it on his own as Robin. For a while, he trained and fought alongside Black Canary, and sometimes even alongside Green Arrow and Speedy. Eventually, Dick was allowed to return as Batman's partner, on the condition he never question his mentor's orders. Yet being bloodily beaten to a pulp by Two-Face and the death of Judge Watkins forever haunted Dick.

Now, as Nightwing, Dick was ready to put that incident behind him, and confront Two-Face once and for all. He tried to activate his detective vision, but soon realized a problem.

"They're using jamming devices," he whispered, "And one of them's equipped with special tracking devices. If I use my detective vision for too long, they'll find us."

"Then we must approach the soldiers silently, correct?" Starfire asked as she tried her best to move with her boyfriend in the floor grates. This meant that she could use her intimidation factor to take out the militia, allowing Nightwing to confront Two-Face head on.

"Go for it, Star," Dick whispered back, "We'll take out the militia together, then we take down Two-Face for good." The two Titans then crawled through the floor grates, taking down the militia silently, one by one. Nightwing instantly went for the tracker, while Starfire took down the soldiers with jamming devices attached to their backs. One by one, the militia fell silently, until finally only Two-Face remained. He wore a white suit with a black dress shirt and a blue necktie, but the left half was burnt and tattered, and the acid burns on his left side extended all the way down to his body, exposing the muscle and bone. The right side of his face now sported three claw marks, scars he received after Catwoman scratched him in Arkham City.

"I know you're here somewhere, old friend!" Two-Face called out, realizing he was the only one left in the room. Now Dick knew it was time to face the man who beat him once head on.

"Hate to break it to you," Nightwing began as he glided down from a grotesque to face the ex-lawyer, "Batman's currently occupied at the moment, Dent. I'm your opponent this time." Seeing that it was Nightwing who took down his thugs and the militia, Two-Face laughed for having been mistaken.

"So Penguin couldn't finish the job, could he?" He asked rhetorically, before pointing his gun at the former Robin, "Sorry kid, but you can't do this alone." It was then that Nightwing smiled confidently at Two-Face.

"Who ever said I was?" He retorted back, "You're forgetting someone else is here."

"What?" Two-Face asked, taken aback.

"My alien girlfriend," Nightwing told him, then he shouted, "Starfire, NOW!!!" In that moment, Starfire unleashed a starbolt that heated the metal in the gun to the point that Two-Face had to drop it. Then she and Nightwing unleashed a dual attack, and knocked Two-Face out. "Great work, Starfire! Two-Face never saw you coming," he told his girlfriend as he patted her on the back.

"I could not have done it without your assistance," she replied as she hugged him happily, "Perhaps it is best that we may take him to prison."

"Heh, that's just what I was thinking," Nightwing replied, "Could be fun to see how he and Penguin will blow up in each other's faces." Dick knew that Two-Face and Penguin were in the alliance with Scarecrow, and were on bad terms since Arkham City, so those two were bound to get into it. Dick pulled up his comm. link and called in Cash. "Hey Cash, we've got Two-Face. We're bringing him to GCPD. Have someone come with a squad car to pick up his men."

"Sure thing, I'll have Bullock get right on it," Cash replied. Dick couldn't help but chuckle at the thought, Harvey Bullock, though distrustful of Batman, was one of the best cops the GCPD had to offer, and a trusted ally of Commissioner Gordon, aside from being quite the character.

Nightwing and Starfire picked up Two-Face like the spoil of a hunt and brought him outside. The Nightbird was still parked nearby, and Dick opened the PTV section up before he and Kori sat Dent down and fastened him inside. Then as the two got into the car, they drove straight for the GCPD Lockup, which wasn't too far of a drive away.

"No...No...Damn it!!" Two-Face yelled as he knew he'd been beaten.

"Oh calm down Harvey," said Nightwing, satisfied yet depressed that an old former ally had to now face justice yet again.

"You don't understand, Nightwing. I'm a freak because of your mentor," said Harvey, regretful of his past seemingly.

"Batman did not create you, he wishes to save you from the monster you have become," said Starfire, "I understand why it is Duela wishes to atone for your terrible deeds."

"Leave that girl out of this! She isn't even our daughter anymore thanks to you freaks," Two-Face reprimanded. Yet then Harvey came back to the surface, "I only wish I could've been a proper father for her..."

The conversation was a short one, and soon they were in the GCPD lockup garage. Nightwing and Starfire got out after parking the car, then brought out their prisoner, escorting Two-Face inside.

"You'll have plenty of time to reflect your parental decisions in custody," said Nightwing as he and Starfire led Two-Face past the holding cells where the lower ranking criminals ranted or cowered. The first cell on the left hand side contained 6 of the dollotrons that they defeated earlier. They were whimpering in fear, looking around as some huddled against each other for comfort and support.

"Under normal circumstances, such a scene would be cute, but that is...just plain freaky, correct?" Starfire asked, still somewhat disturbed by the sight of the dollotrons.

"I'm with you on that one, sweetie," Nightwing replied as they moved on, passing Riddler's informants, the various militia, who were due to be court martialed because of their actions. Across their cell was Two-Face's crew. They shouted threats at the two heroes to take their hands off their boss. Yet the couple just ignored them. After that they passed more militia, and Penguin's crew, who cheered and laughed when they saw Two-Face being led away. Next to them were the thugs who attacked the fire department stationed in Gotham.

Passing the interview room, they went to Maximum Security, where Cash was waiting for them. Behind him in a huge holding cell were Penguin, Firefly, Professor Pyg, Chief Underhill, Simon Stagg and the Riddler. Near the cell door, Renee Montoya, Harvey Bullock's old partner unlocked the cell door for the two heroes, then both Titans shoved Dent in, and quickly closed the door before anyone could escape.

"I could've told Scarecrow from the beginning that getting you involved in this was a bad idea!" Penguin tainted as Two-Face got to his feet to confront his ex-associate.

"Watch it Cobblepot," he warned, "We're on the same side of the bars now." Nightwing only chuckled at the sight of them bickering. He was glad that Penguin got some karmic justice for troubling Blüdhaven.

"Haven't seen Jack Ryder around lately," said Crispus Allen, who was making the rounds in the holding cells. He was a recent transfer from Metropolis, and until recently was distrustful of Batman.

"Aye, said somethin' about goin' to the Lady o' Gotham. Went on 'bout a wee spot o' superstitious nonsense goin' down 'ere," replied Chief Clancy O'Hara, the resident friendly Irish Officer. He'd been on the force long since Dick's tenure as Robin.

"Wait, Jack Ryder's missing?" Nightwing asked, "That's not good." Dick knew that Jack Ryder also was always itching for a good story, so he could get even with Vicki Vale.

"Perhaps once we have defeated this bat creature, we should investigate this disappearance, yes?" Starfire asked, knowing that this had to be bad as well. She didn't know much about him, but Dick figured Jack Ryder would want to interview Starfire, something she wouldn't turn down.

"Sounds like a plan, Star," he replied as they made their way back to the Nightbird. As they got inside, Nightwing entered in the coordinates for the Langstroms' lab in Chinatown. "Hang on tight. We've got a monster to hunt!" Then he hit the gas, and they sped off out into the night.

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A/N: So what we would consider as "gargoyles" is actually a misunderstanding. We use it as a generic term. Though a gargoyle is really a statue of an animal designed to act as a gutter on the roofs of buildings, mostly churches and cathedrals. Water is drawn through pipes, out and away from the roof, and then out of the mouths of the gargoyles. The correct term for statues of monsters that aren't gargoyles are grotesques, or chimeras.

A lot of the history section I added in for Two-Face's backstory was adapted from one of the graphic novels, _Batman: The Long Halloween_ by Tim Sale and Jeph Loeb, and it's one of the best Batman stories ever. The part of Dick's backstory where he was beaten by Two-Face early in his career as Robin was also based loosely on events from the graphic novel, _Robin: Year One_ by Chuck Dixon and Scott Beatty, which deals with Dick Grayson's first year as Robin.

I highly recommend you read both graphic novels, and _Batman: Dark Victory_ , again by Tim Sale and Jeph Loeb, Which is set between _The Long Halloween_ and _Robin: Year One_ , and retells Dick Grayson's origin as Robin. The stories basically also feed into one another.

Lastly, since I rewatched an episode of _Batman: The Animated Series_ involving the Langstroms, and doing some research, for fans who have played Arkham Knight, and Batman fans, it's time to answer one question we've all been asking.

Please like, follow and review, and as always, stay tuned!


	10. Chapter 10: The Trail of a Monster!

Nightwing: Arkham Knight

 **DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING! ALL CHARACTERS BELONG TO DC COMICS. BATMAN - ARKHAMVERSE BELONGS TO DC ENTERTAINMENT, WB ENTERTAINMENT AND ROCKSTEADY GAMES. BATMAN BELONGS TO DC COMICS, BOB KANE AND BILL FINGER. NIGHTWING AND STARFIRE BELONG TO DC COMICS, MARV WOLFMAN AND GEORGE PEREZ.**

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Chapter 10: The Trail of a Monster!

Speeding down the roads of Bleake Island, Nightwing and Starfire had one thought on their mind: what happened to Dr. Langstrom? They had to know in what way was he linked to the bat creature now terrorizing Gotham. They drove past the clock tower that Oracle used as her base of operations while helping the Batman Family, the Justice League and the Birds of Prey, a team of heroines that usually consisted of Dinah Lance, AKA Black Canary and Helena Bertinelli, AKA Huntress.

When Dick was still Robin, Dinah sometimes trained him when Batman was on missions with the Justice League, and that was how he met and befriended Green Arrow and his protege, Roy Harper. Huntress on the other hand was different. Helena was asked to be the second Batgirl after Barbara was paralyzed by the Joker. Needless to say, she soon decided to forge her own hero identity. She also had issues, when she was 8 years old, her parents were killed in front of her eyes by order of the Italian mafia, and now she wanted revenge. While her methods included using a pistol crossbow, she was effectively a superhero, as she denounced her family's crime legacy and decided to fight the Mafia. She helped Nightwing out a few times with hunting down the mafia in Blüdhaven, and admittedly even had a few one night stand ins with him, though she did so only to learn some of the Batman Family's secrets. Despite this act of espionage, she and Dick were still close friends, and sometimes helped each other out. Though he figured since now that he was back with Kori, she would be pretty envious.

"I have forgotten how beautiful it is when it is snowing," said Starfire, as she looked around at the city.

"Yeah, sure brings back memories," Nightwing replied with a chuckle. He remembered having so much fun as a kid growing up at Wayne Manor in the winter. When he wasn't on duty as Robin or training in the Batcave, he would have fun like any other kid did in the snow. Once, the Titans even took a vacation to Hokkaido for the Sapporo Yuki-matsuri one February, a gift from their Russian teammate Leonid Kovar, AKA Red Star, for helping him stop the master thief, André LeBlanc, from stealing the Swedish Crown Jewels.

Before long, they found themselves at their destination, marked by a TV screen that asked if Batman was really good for Gotham. Dick glanced at the promo and just shook his head. The fact that there were still anti-Batman groups in Gotham disappointed him, since he did so much good for the city.

"Robin? Are you alright?" Starfire asked, concerned about her boyfriend. She knew what it was like to be feared by other people, as there were some xenophobic groups who were against alien superheroes like herself and Superman. Though she was not as much a target, since Tamaran wasn't as well known on Earth.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just a bit annoyed by that is all," he replied, indicating the Jumbotron. "Anyway, we should probably get going." Kori smiled with a nod and the two got out of the cockpit side by side. The coordinates Alfred gave them led past a chain link fence to a set of double doors. Nightwing opened one of them and held it for Starfire. She loved that her boyfriend was so much of a gentleman, something Alfred made sure he would be as a young man. The dimly lit room only led to an elevator and nothing else. Only pipes for the plumbing and a few empty boxes.

"I had forgotten how much I do not like basements..." Starfire whimpered as she hugged Nightwing. Ever since her teenage years, she was easily scared. Whenever the Titans watched horror movies at Raven's request, she always held onto Dick and closed her eyes whenever the monster was about to attack. The first time they all watched one together, she got so frightened to the point where she had nightmares, and both Robin and Wonder Girl had to comfort her. Though she got better about it after they faced Trigon twice.

"It's okay babe, there's nothing to be scared about," said Nightwing as he held her tightly and led her inside the elevator. After pushing the button, and the doors closed, they slowly began to descend. The lights that guided the elevator featured red bulbs for emergency lighting. When they finally reached the basement, they knew where to go. "The lab must be up ahead," said Dick as his detective vision picked up traces of bat DNA. "Star, can you give us some light?"

Starfire nodded and powered up a starbolt to act as a flashlight. As they made their way downt the hallway, they were growing more concerned about if this bat creature and Langstrom were linked with Scarecrow. If Langstrom was, like Simon Stagg, cooperating with Crane for monetary benefit. As they opened the door to the lab, they were shocked at what they saw.

The entire room was completely ruined, damaged beyond repair. Loose wires and flipped tables were pushed aside along with broken beakers and test tubes. There was even a hole in the wall that led outside, a clue as to the Bat creature's escape.

"What has happened here?" Starfire asked, shocked by the sight before them. Then she noticed the body of a woman nearby. Nightwing saw the body as well and they made their way towards her. It was Francine Langstrom, Dr. Langstrom's wife. "She is alive?" Starfire asked as she and Dick checked her for a pulse. Despite their hopes, they weren't able to find one. Yet then they saw her move as she gasped for air.

"KIRK!!" Francine screamed as she regained consciousness. She looked around, bewildered as she caught her breath.

"She's alive," said Nightwing, relieved that they now didn't have another casualty in their hands.

"Thank X'hal!" Starfire proclaimed, equally relieved. Francine though looked up at the two heroes next to her. Before she could ask who they were though, she clutched her head in pain.

"Ow...my ears. Why is it so loud?" She asked. Before long, a sharp pain ran through her entire body and she keeled onto her side. Suddenly both Nightwing and Starfire saw her clothes rip as her entire body was covered in grayish silvery fur, save for her long brown hair. Her ears became pointed and long, her nails curled into claws, her teeth filed into fangs as she screamed and cried in pain, equally horrified by what was happening to her. Then two leathery wings extended from her arms, stopping just at her hands. Finally, her nose and skull extended forward, until it formed a doglike snout. "Stay back!! I could hurt you!" She told Nightwing and Starfire as the transformation finalized itself.

"What on Earth!?" Nightwing asked in shock. He hadn't seen anything like this during his tenure as a hero. Starfire only watched in horror at Francine's transformation into another bat creature. The two realized that this was probably not what Dr. Langstrom was hoping for. When the transformation was complete, Francine woke from her state of delirium, realizing that she still had her intelligence and humanity. She looked at her own reflection in a nearby piece of broken glass, saddened by what she underwent. She was alive, but a monster.

"Kirk...what've we done?" She asked herself. She then turned to Nightwing and Starfire, as she got up, folding her wings to her arms. In this form, she was 7 feet tall, and thus towered over the two Titans.

"Mrs. Langstrom, we're trying to find your husband," said Nightwing, hoping to calmly explain the situation.

"Please, tell us all that happened," Starfire added on, having gotten over her initial fear. Francine realized that she could help them with the dilemma her family was going through. She nodded and told them what happened. It turned out that she and her husband tried to mix human DNA with that of vampire bats in order to prevent and cure deafness. Recently they made a successful breakthrough, but then Kirk decided to test it on himself first to treat his chronic hearing loss. However the experiment not only restored his hearing, but it turned him into a monster, something she witnessed with her own eyes.

"Then it seems Dr. Langstrom is the bat creature we've been trying to track," Nightwing muttered. He knew someone who tried a similar experiment with monstrous results, Grace Balin, AKA Orca. She was a marine biologist who was paralyzed during an accident. To help regain her mobility, she experimented with spinal cord tissue regeneration by mixing her DNA with that of an orca whale. She regained the use of her legs, but was also transformed into a human orca hybrid. From there she developed a Robin Hood complex, stealing from the rich to give to the poor, then became an environmental saboteur. After Batman stopped her multiple times, she fled to Blüdhaven and joined a rehab group of former super villains, the very team of new heroes that Nightwing now worked alongside.

"Please, help me find my husband," Francine begged, "He's not in control of his actions...I'm worried he could hurt someone." Starfire placed her hand on Francine's shoulder to reassure her.

"For confiding in us, we are most humbled," she said, "We will help you in the search for your husband." Nightwing only nodded as he stood next to his girlfriend. This made Francine feel incredibly hopeful, that they didn't see her as a freak, and were actually going to help her get back the man she loved.

"Thank you...both of you!" She said as she felt tears welling up in her eyes.

"I promise we won't let you down," Nightwing told her as he looked around for something to help them, taking out the blood sample from his utility belt. "There's gotta be something that holds all Kirk's research. If we find that we'll be able to create an antidote."

"The computer wasn't damaged in Kirk's rampage," said Francine, "It's got all our research notes on there." The two Titans made their way to the computer, marked by the screensaver with photos of Kirk and Francine on vacation. Nightwing looked through all the files Kirk used in his experiments.

"I believe that combining his DNA with that of the bat of vampires was destined to end in sadness," said Starfire as she and Nightwing looked at the data on the screen.

"Uh...well, I don't think we used vampire bats all the time," said Francine, "I think the batch that transformed me was mostly fruit bat DNA, since I can still see clearly." Starfire then noticed Nightwing's fixation on the formula notes.

"Robin, has your exploration of the formula explained Dr. Langstrom's troubling situation?" Starfire asked, since she knew that sense of focus her boyfriend displayed whenever he was onto something.

"Yeah. I'm definitely onto something," he said as he uploaded the blood sample to a machine nearby. The screen then uploaded two DNA chains, one being Kirk's, the other being the mutated sample. "If we can isolate and remove the mutated signature from Kirk's DNA, then we'll have a clean strain to work with." Nightwing and Starfire got work on creating an antidote. Since Tamaraneans were also scientists as well as warriors, this was also somewhat her area of expertise. Though she wasn't as well suited as Beast Boy, she was doing her best to help. Before long, they were able to successfully complete the experiment.

"It is done. We have created an antidote for Dr. Langstrom's affliction," said Starfire, satisfied with the work they accomplished.

"Now all we need to do is find him," said Nightwing as he prepped the antidote into an advanced type of syringe, that looked similar to the explosive gel dispenser. "Mrs. Langstrom, can you use echolocation to find Kirk?"

"I don't think I can," she replied, "But I'll still be able to see him in the dark. Fruit bats can be active both during the day and night." This at least was some form of reassurance.

"That'll help us out, but we may need more help finding him since he could be anywhere," said Nightwing as he patched into his comm. links, "Nightwing to Orca, you there? I could use your help."

"Nightwing? What's up?" A female voice replied.

"We're tracking a giant bat creature flying around Gotham, it was once Dr. Kirk Langstrom. Think you could come and help us track him down?" He asked. Since toothed whales and bats both used sonar, he knew Orca could be helpful in this situation.

"Oh sure! I'll be there as soon as I can," she replied.

"Thanks. Meet us at the clocktower on Bleake Island when you get there. Nightwing out," he told her, then ended the comm. link before connecting to his channel he used with the other Titans. "Beast Boy, you got some free time? We're trying to locate a giant bat creature in Gotham, and could use your help." Hearing those words, Starfire was so excited. She and Beast Boy were like siblings, so she knew he'd be happy to see her too.

"Dude, you know I've got this one!" Beast Boy exclaimed, "I'll fly on it ASAP."

"Thanks, meet us at the roof of the clocktower on Bleake Island. Nightwing out," Dick replied and hung up. Nightwing couldn't help but chuckle, "Guess we could just call in the others if things get out of hand." Since they already had Flash's help and now Beast Boy, it made sense that should something really major come up, the rest of the Titans be called on to help out.

"Oh, I cannot wait to see Beast Boy again!" Starfire exclaimed giddily as she hugged Nightwing.

"Okay, let's get over to the clock tower," he said as he hugged her back. Both Kori and Francine nodded in agreement. Starfire only held onto Nightwing tightly and flew out of the hole in the wall that led outside, followed by Francine. The She-Bat crawled out and then she spread her wings before taking off into the sky, as if she was a natural at this. Though she did have a brief moment where she nearly fell and recovered mid-flight.

"This could take some getting used to," she muttered, but as she flew she couldn't help but laugh happily at the joy of being airborne, a feeling Starfire and Nightwing understood all too well. They only smiled as they flew to the clock tower where they'd await the arrival of their friends before finally finding and helping cure Kirk Langstrom of the mutation that he suffered from.

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A/N: Yes, we have the appearance of She-Bat! I was inspired by the episode of _Batman: The Animated Series_ called _Terror in the Sky_ for making She-Bat mostly a human-fruit bat hybrid. As for her retaining her intelligence and humanity, in the comics there were times that Man-Bat retained his own sanity and self that he fought for good, so I wanted to emulate that with Francine so she could help Nightwing and Starfire save her husband.

Now, I decided to have Orca come along because in the current Nightwing comics, she's part of a group of ex-supervillains called the Run-Offs that work with Nightwing to protect and save Blüdhaven, so she's one of his allies.

Let me know what you guys think about this chapter! Please leave a review, favorite and follow for more, and as always stay tuned for more chapters! :)


	11. Chapter 11 - Gathering of the Beasts

Nightwing: Arkham Knight

 **DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING! ALL CHARACTERS BELONG TO DC COMICS. BATMAN - ARKHAMVERSE BELONGS TO DC ENTERTAINMENT, WB ENTERTAINMENT AND ROCKSTEADY GAMES. BATMAN BELONGS TO DC COMICS, BOB KANE AND BILL FINGER. NIGHTWING AND STARFIRE BELONG TO DC COMICS, MARV WOLFMAN AND GEORGE PÉREZ.**

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Chapter 11: The Gathering of Beasts...

The trio flew through the snowy skies above them, back towards the clock tower, though Francine was having difficulty adjusting to flying with wings for the first time. Even though she was pretty much naked, however, her fur coat kept her nice and warm in this weather. The rain would have hampered flying for her somewhat, as her fur would've gotten completely soaked and weighed her down. Nightwing and Starfire, meanwhile, couldn't think about how similar Dr. Langstrom was to Mr. Freeze in someways, as both men were scientists who had good intentions to help others, but were tragically transformed into monsters. Tonight they'd make sure that Kirk didn't end up like Victor Fries was, for his wife's sake.

"Okay, the clock tower's coming into view," said Nightwing as he could see the rendezvous point up in front of them. He and Starfire knew that Beast Boy could have no problem up there, but Dick knew that Orca would have to meet him on the ground.

"Robin, who was that woman you spoke to back at the lab, and why has she taken the name of the whale that kills?" Starfire asked, curious about who Orca was. She didn't want any other woman stealing her man away from her, and she would fight tooth and nail to make sure of that.

"Oh, Orca?" Dick asked, "Her real name's Dr. Grace Balin, she's a biologist who specializes in marine mammals. She was once one of Batman's enemies, but she's turned over a new leaf and has been helping me out in Blüdhaven as a new hero. And trust me, babe, you'll know why she's called Orca when you see her. Though she's kinda self-conscious about her appearance, I'm sure that she'll get along with you." The prospect of making a new friend was something Kori was definitely open to, especially among other superheroes.

"If you trust her, Robin, then so will I," she replied, smiling at her boyfriend. Soon they all landed on the rooftop of the clock tower. Francine, on the other hand, landed a bit roughly and nearly fell off. However, Nightwing and Starfire pulled her up onto the roof. "Mrs. Langstrom, are you injured?" She asked the fruit bat-hybrid.

"I'm fine, sorry. I'm not so good at flying for the first time," Francine told them, glad to be back on solid ground. "That was a bit nerve racking, I'll admit, but in a way, it was also kinda fun too." Nightwing and Starfire couldn't help but smile and nod at that notion. They knew how wonderful it felt being airborne, the rush, the thrill and the feeling of being almost weightless. For the two of them, it felt truly exhilarating. Nightwing then got a call in from his comm. link.

"Nightwing, I'm almost at the clock tower, think you could meet me at the bottom?" Orca asked.

"Sure thing, I'll meet you there shortly. Nightwing out," he replied, and then looked at Starfire and She-Bat, "Orca's on her way over. Starfire, you and I will meet her on the ground. In the meantime, Francine, think you could keep a lookout for Kirk while we're gone?"

"You know I can," Francine replied, confident that with her keen sight, she could keep a close watch on the skies for her husband.

"Thanks, we'll be back soon," said Nightwing, as he looked to Starfire and the two descended down to the street level. Here, Nightwing was able to show off his acrobatics that he'd been practicing ever since he was a child. Though since he didn't have a cape as part of his costume, he didn't mind having Starfire lift him for long distance flights. Dick used flag poles to swing off of, while he leaped from ledge to ledge, even using the grotesques as landing points and then landed safely near the stairs. Kori floated down nearby, smiling in amazement.

"You never cease to enthrall me with your aerial finesse," she said as she wrapped her arm around his waist, pulling him in close to her side. They then walked together down the stairs, underneath the bridge that connected the clock tower to another building. They noticed that there were fewer and fewer of the militia drones being deployed than they initially saw. Even the watchtowers and checkpoints were deactivated. Whoever this Arkham Knight figure was, he wasn't as tough as he seemed.

Soon after, the sound of footsteps crunching through the snow was heard. From around a corner came a figure disguised in a fedora, scarf, leather gloves and trench coat, who only took off the hat only when Nightwing stepped into the light. It was Grace Balin, AKA Orca, the very woman Nightwing spoke to earlier, and she was true to her alias.

Grace then took off the rest of her disguise, revealing the extent of her mutation. She had the head and skull of an orca whale, complete with a blowhole in place of a nose, and a melon, an echolocation organ most toothed whales have that allows them to use sonar. Yet she also had medium length blonde hair on her head, and two exposed ears that were reminiscent of a hippo's ears. Her skin was monochrome with the same black and white patterns that orca whales had. On her back was a small dorsal fin, a sign of sexual dimorphism among toothed whales. Though she also had a massive bust, almost bigger than Starfire's, given her height and body type. Her hands and feet had additional webbing that allowed her to swim better underwater, while her fingernails and toenails were curled into claws. Lastly, above her ass was a long and slender but powerful tail with a fin at the tip.

"Orca, glad you could make it," said Nightwing, "Thanks for getting the message."

"Anytime, Bird Boy," she replied happily, then she looked around the city she once lived in. "God, it's been ages since I've been here." Then she noticed Starfire and instantly got nervous. When she was still a minor villain, she used to accept the fact that her appearance was terrifying, but now as a reformed criminal and novice hero, she was afraid of being accepted.

"Orca, this is Starfire, my girlfriend and fellow Titan," Nightwing told her. This shocked Grace completely, since she wasn't expecting Dick to have a girlfriend already. She knew about his bad luck dating in Blüdhaven, especially after that incident with Lady Vic. Though she was fully well aware of Dick's tenure as leader of the Teen Titans, as were the rest of the Run-Offs, the group of former supervillains-turned-superheroes that he led in Blüdhaven.

"I-It's nice to m-meet you," she said, fidgeting her fingers as she nervously approached the beautiful alien princess. "M-My name is Grace Balin, but just call me Orca." It was definitely evident that Orca was looking to be accepted, a fact she openly admitted in therapy sessions at the Blüdhaven community center.

"It is an honor to meet you. I am princess Starfire of Tamaran," Kori replied happily, "Please: where did you come from? How did you get here? What is your favorite color? Do you wish to be my friend?" Grace was just so overwhelmed at this point. The fact that she was meeting an alien princess was mind boggling, but even more astonishing was that this girl was openly asking to be friends with her.

"Uh...Blüdhaven, swam...blue and..." she began, before finally breaking out in tears of joy, "Yes, I do!" She exclaimed. Grace was just so happy that she was able to find another hero who accepted her as an individual, not just because of her powers. Starfire instantly gasped in happiness before giving one of her signature hugs to the whale woman.

"Hello new friend!" She exclaimed happily. Grace was shocked by the hug, but nevertheless accepted it and hugged Kori back just as tightly. Her increased strength and thick hide meant she could withstand Tamaraneans' superhuman strength for a certain period of time. After calming herself down, she let go and then looked at Nightwing.

"So, you said that you two were in the Teen Titans together?" Orca asked him.

"Yeah, she was my first you could say," he replied, "In more ways than one. There was an issue of state marriage that forced her to return home for a while, but we just got back together tonight."

"Aww, how sweet!" Grace commented, happy to hear that Kori was not only Dick's current girlfriend, but also his teenage sweetheart. "You better take good care of her then, bird boy."

"I trust Robin with my entire being," Starfire replied, "Though I believe we must return to Mrs. Langstrom, correct?" Nightwing only nodded at his girlfriend, since they could talk about his love life later, when he had the time in Blüdhaven.

"Star's right. We've got a Man-Bat to find," Nightwing said, "Orca, we'll go over the details with you when our second tracker gets here," he then told Grace.

"Man-Bat?" Grace asked as they made their way up the stairs to the bridge, but before she could ask any further, Starfire wrapped her arms around Orca's blubbery skin and lifted her up into the sky while Nightwing used a grapnel gun to make his way up to the top of the clock tower. Orca held on tightly since she wasn't too keen on falling, unless they were over deep water, where she could swim as fast as the dolphin she took after.

As soon as they were on the roof, Grace and Francine were stunned as they saw one another. Though the former was relieved that she wasn't the odd one out. Francine on the other hand was a bit startled.

"Easy, she's with us," Nightwing told her before turning to Grace, "Grace Balin, meet Francine Langstrom, the Man-Bat we're looking for is her husband." Francine only blushed as she looked at Orca, since she didn't want anyone else seeing her in her current form.

"At least I'm glad I'm not the odd one out," Orca replied as she held her hand out to Francine. She had a feeling that whatever the couple were doing wasn't too far off to what happened to her.

Just then, a sharp cry pierced the air, as a small dark dot came into view. As it came closer, the four of them could see a green peregrine falcon diving towards the clock tower then it immediately turned into a young man, slender and well built, with a short mullet and wearing a short sleeved red and white outfit. Yet what stuck out the most was that his skin, hair and eyes were green, and he had pointed ears, cat-like pupils, clawed hands and four sharp canine teeth. It was Beast Boy, another founding member of the Teen Titans, and he was trying his best as always to try and be cool.

"Yo! What's shakin' everybody? Beast Boy's in the house!" He exclaimed as he made a flamboyant pose. Francine and Orca were a bit put off by Beast Boy's theatrics, but Nightwing and Starfire weren't. Having known each other since their teenage years, they were used to how he tried to act cool.

Born as Garfield Mark Logan, Beast Boy was the son of two top zoologists working on methods to revive extinct species of animals, including ice age animals like the woolly mammoth, the giant ground sloth and the American lion. As a young boy, he traveled with his parents on their expeditions across the world, but on a trip to Africa he got bitten by a green monkey and contracted Sakutia, a rare viral disease that was deadly to most animals, except some species of monkeys in West Africa. Desperately, Gar's parents administered an experimental vaccine, which saved his life, but turned him green and gave him the power to transform into any animal on Earth, extinct or alive.

Following his parents' tragic death in a boating accident, he felt he could have done something to save their lives. Afterwards he had multiple guardians, from the very tribe whom his father befriended, to two grave robbers who exploited him for their own deeds, to even the minor superhero team called the Doom Patrol. Beast Boy got his codename and experience as a hero fighting as part of the team, and was even adopted by teammates Mento and Elastigirl as their son. However, when they died while trying to save a small fishing village in Maine, he was determined to make it on his own. Luckily he arrived in Jump City, CA on the very night that Robin, Wonder Girl and Kid Flash arrived. Shortly after meeting them, he met Starfire, Cyborg and Raven; he then helped defeat the Gordanians and became a founding member of the Teen Titans.

Being the youngest member of the Titans, Beast Boy was playful, dim-witted, energetic and often downright immature, sometimes throwing in something outrageous or making an unnecessary joke whenever they were focused on an important theory relating to their situation. Because of this, he was often seen as childish, idiotic and cumbersome, but as time went on, he definitely matured over the years, and became more sincere, but still displayed some signs of his teenage personality, he even outgrew his vegan phase. For a brief period, he moved to Los Angeles and even got a career as an actor. Though while most of the films he was in turned out to be box office bombs, among the Titans, they became cult classics. However, he soon found himself framed for a series of murders, something that he and Nightwing both tracked down to Gemini, the daughter of Madame Rouge: a member of the Brotherhood of Evil, and an enemy of the Doom Patrol who Beast Boy unintentionally killed when the Titans faced the Brotherhood once.

Since then, he returned to the Titans, and found a job at S.T.A.R. Labs as an expert in zoology and splicing. He was also incredibly wealthy, as he finally inherited his family's wealth from his parents' earnings they got from their discoveries, and had a huge villa in the hills outside Jump City, so he could still be close to the other Titans. Now he felt that it was time to repay Nightwing back for helping clear his name.

"It's good to see you again," said Nightwing, smiling as he saw his old friend approach, then he turned to Orca and Francine, "Beast Boy's an old friend from the Titans, and an expert in zoology."

"I hear you bro," Beast Boy replied, "Haven't seen you since that Gemini incident in Hollywood. Thanks again for the save, by the way." He could tell that Orca and Francine were allies since they weren't showing any sign of hostile intentions. "So these two ladies friends of yours?" He asked.

"In a way, though we aren't the only Titans here in Gotham tonight," said Nightwing, grinning as he gave a nod. Starfire then walked forward, with a huge smile plastered onto her face. Instantly Beast Boy's eyes widened in shock and surprise as he instantly transformed into a dog and ran up to her, his tail wagging happily. He whined happily as he jumped onto his surrogate big sister and licked her face over and over again.

"I am glad to see you as well!" Starfire exclaimed as she laughed and petted her surrogate baby brother happily. It was definitely a touching reunion between the two, since after her state marriage, Beast Boy thought he'd never see Starfire again since they were as thick as thieves, and she taught him to be a good person. In all that time apart, he never forgot her for one second. He then turned back into his normal form and hugged her properly, overwhelmed with happiness.

"Please tell me this isn't a dream," he begged her, "Y-You're back for good this time?"

"I am truly sorry for having left you and our friends, Beast Boy," she told him, "But now I have returned to stay." Those words made Beast Boy feel so happy that he'd get his surrogate sister back for good.

"Okay, so what kinda monster are we looking for?" He asked the group as he calmed himself down. That was when Francine explained her story about how she and Kirk were successful in splicing human DNA with bats' as a theory to treat and eradicate hearing loss, and that Kirk tested it on himself and turned into a Man-Bat monster that was now on a mindless rampage across Gotham.

"This all sounds too similar to the experiment that turned me into Orca," said Grace as she could understand what Francine was going through. Although she chose to remain as Orca permanently after a near-death experience. Prior to that, she could revert back to her human form, but after being shot by her corrupt boss, she begged Batman to let her take the rest of the serum she made in order to save her life.

"There could be something else involved," said Beast Boy, "One, the bat DNA he was using was radioactive, or two: he's another innocent victim of vampire mind control!" Of course, he was only trying to be funny, but nobody laughed.

"Okay Beast Boy, this is serious," said Nightwing, "We know that the DNA samples had no radioisotopes, plus Raven's not here to back you up on that second theory either." He knew Beast Boy's bad habit of inappropriate jokes, and he was hoping that wouldn't come up.

"I'm kidding," the shape-shifter replied, "But it looks like you and your husband were delving into some dark territory, Mrs. Langstrom. There's been some controversy about splicing for years now, and some politicians have deemed it a crime against nature, for good reason." Beast Boy then explained how at STAR Labs he worked with some crazy individuals in his department. One was Dr. Achilles Milo, a chemist who turned to crime shortly after he started working there, after he made a new drug from combining untraceable steroids with gray wolf estrogen, and resulted in turning one star athlete into an actual werewolf. Another was Dr. Emile Dorian, a geneticist who created a mutagen called T-99, and started experiments to create a human-cat hybrid. As a result, he was forced to leave Jump City after some controversy against his experiments.

"In any case, we need to find Dr. Langstrom and administer the antidote," said Nightwing, "That's where you and Orca come in, Beast Boy. We need you to help us track him down, and help immobilize him." Dick knew that Langstrom would definitely put up a good fight in his state of mind, and that there was no telling what else he was capable of. So they needed to plan accordingly.

"Um, can't She-Bat over here do that as well?" Beast Boy asked, mentally kicking himself for rudely calling Francine by that nickname.

"I can't. Fruit bats can't use sonar like microbats," Francine replied, not minding the name he gave her since it seemed appropriate. "Though I can see clearly in the dark."

"Maybe not megabats, but toothed whales can," said Orca, knowing that this was exactly her strong suit, "Normally I only use it underwater, but I'm willing to make an exception in this case." Orca and Beast Boy knew though that it wasn't going to be like how bats used echolocation. Bats used their larynx to scream out of their nose or mouth, whereas toothed whales pushed air out of their noses that vibrated the melon, which focused and modulated the sound as it passed through the whales' head and into the water.

"I'll go with Orca. If her sonar can't work on land, then I'll see if I can pick up his scent," said Beast Boy, selflessly promising Grace his help. He knew he'd have to go solely with transforming into birds and mammals, since they were warm blooded.

"Okay, sounds good. If you find him, let us know," said Nightwing, as he then turned to Starfire and She-Bat, "Ladies, you two are with me. We'll search the skies and rooftops."

"Very well, then let us begin our search!" Starfire exclaimed as they all split up into their teams. Nightwing leaped into the air, performing his signature daredevil acrobatic leaps from rooftop to rooftop with Starfire and She-Bat flying in close behind him on their aerial search, while Beast Boy turned into a _Pteranodon_ and once Orca was on his back, he flew off towards the ground, before then transforming into a woolly mammoth. The search for Man-Bat was now on!

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A/N: So for Orca's appearance, I was going for a more animalistic look for her, since in the comics she's portrayed as a humanoid orca whale and is bald. I gave her hair and hippo-like ears since early whales had those. The same can be said for the claws on her hands and feet, in the case of _Ambulocetus_ , a species of early whale that lived on land and water. The tail was definitely inspired by the one Killer Croc had, and this allows her to swim more like an otter than most humans would, in that her arms are underneath her body while she kicks her legs simultaneously, allowing her spine and tail to flex up and down.

One other interesting feature about her is her teeth. I modeled her teeth off of both modern orca whales and _Basilosaurus_ , another early whale. Orca's incisors and canines look like those found in modern toothed whales, but her bicuspids and molars are based off of the teeth of _Basilosaurus_ , and how she uses them is how most predatory mammals would use them on land. She uses her incisors and canines to grab onto prey, and then uses her bicuspids and molars to chew her food, whereas modern toothed whales just swallow their food whole.

Another thing I felt very strongly about was that for Beast Boy, when he was in some animal forms should be incapable of speech, because in the comics he was able to talk regardless of what form he was in. Like the producers for the _Teen Titans_ cartoon, I felt that if he was going to be that silly, it would be ridiculous, but to be realistic, I decided to limit his speech capabilities in animal form to when he transforms into some types of birds like parrots, crows and songbirds, and when he turns into different primates such as lemurs, monkeys, or different species of apes like gorillas or orangutans, given how closely they're related to us humans. Any other time, however, when he goes into animal form, he cannot speak.

Second, the backstory for Beast Boy's adult life is based loosely from a limited series of his own that he had around 1999 or early 2000. And yes, in an issue of _The_ _New Teen Titans_ , he did accidentally kill Madame Rouge. For his reunion with Starfire, I decided to have him turn into a dog after watching way too many YouTube videos of dogs reuniting with their owners after a long time.

Anyway, the next chapter will wrap up the hunt for Man-Bat as we move closer to the end of our story. Please let me know what you think in the reviews, follow and favorite if you guys wanna see more! :)


	12. Chapter 12: The Flight of Man-Bat!

Nightwing: Arkham Knight

 **DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING! ALL CHARACTERS BELONG TO DC COMICS. BATMAN - ARKHAMVERSE BELONGS TO DC ENTERTAINMENT, WB ENTERTAINMENT AND ROCKSTEADY GAMES. BATMAN BELONGS TO DC COMICS, BOB KANE AND BILL FINGER. NIGHTWING AND STARFIRE BELONG TO DC COMICS, MARV WOLFMAN AND GEORGE PÉREZ.**

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Chapter 12: The Flight Of Man-Bat!

The cold wintry skies echoed with the sound of the wind blowing, though most thugs were concerned about how cold it was and tried their best to ignore the snowfall, but they couldn't ignore the giant green woolly mammoth now walking the streets of Gotham city, with an orca girl on its back. It was almost like a scene that was straight out of the Ice Age, if it hadn't been for the modern city surrounding them. In the sky above, Starfire now held Nightwing in her arms as they searched the skies for Man-Bat, Francine close behind them. They could definitely pick up chatter on the militia's communications, and from what the thugs were gossiping about, whether it was how the snow and cold reminded them of the conditions in Arkham City, or how one thug wanted to swing by a toy store to get something for his kids. Yet their quiet search was interrupted when Orca's voice came in on the comm. link.

"Orca to Nightwing, we got a clear trail," she said, "Beast Boy's picked up on Kirk's scent. Must've been some of his guano." The fact that Kirk was draining victims of blood was bad enough, but this was at least a clear trail that would lead right to him.

"Nice, we'll follow your lead. Keep your ears open for any high pitched screeching too. Nightwing out," he said as he ended the transmission.

"I hope the victims of the Man-Bat do not regress into the living dead," said Starfire, nervously trying to keep her fears in check. She'd faced inter-dimensional demons and giant monsters before, but it was the undead or traditional monsters of popular folklore like vampires, werewolves or even zombies, and some Japanese mythical creatures as well. In fact, she was known to get more scared from watching Japanese horror films than anything, as they gave her nightmares for sometimes days at a time.

"They won't, that's only in the old stories and movies," She-Bat explained, "Kirk's not in control of his actions. We gotta find him fast." Francine, Nightwing and Beast Boy all knew that vampire bats usually preyed on horses, particularly mares. They made a small bite that hardly hurt, and then lapped up the blood with their tongues.

"We will," said Nightwing, then he contacted Alfred via the comm. link to see if he could help them out, "Alfred, we're on Dr. Langstrom's trail. Think you could find anything unusual reports going on? And I mean supernaturally unusual."

"I'll start looking into it now, sir," Alfred replied, and he instantly began looking up any reference to giant bat creatures on the Bat-Computer, even using the Batwing to find any giant flying bats in Gotham. "Master Richard, there have been several reports of the discovery of several equine and bovine species at Gotham Zoo that have been almost completely drained of blood."

"Then we must find Dr. Langstrom before he begins to feed off of humans," said Starfire, as she knew the situation was dire enough already.

Suddenly, as if out of nowhere, a loud shrieking sound was heard echoing across the night sky, like the scream of one of the Nazgûl from the _Lord of the Rings_ movies. Then suddenly, they could see thugs on the ground running in terror from a huge shadow of a bat, made visible by the light of the moon. Some thought that they'd been exposed to Scarecrow's fear toxin for far too long and that this was a side effect, others that Batman had finally lost it, and some even thought that it was a demon straight from Hell, and started shooting at it. Orca, still unsure if it would work, tried her sonar on land for the first time, as she unleashed a loud clicking noise from underneath her nose. The sound, though very weak, traveled back as an echo that instantly hit her senses. Looking up, she then suddenly saw their target, a 7 ft tall humanoid bat, with silvery gray fur, sharp fangs, poor eyesight, large ears, a leafy nose and with IV and oxygen tubes attached to its body, it was Kirk Langstrom, their target.

"Guys! We've found him!" She said on the comm. link, "He's got some thugs spooked alright." She and Beast Boy also noticed that Langstrom was flying incredibly slower than usual. This was because vampire bats weren't suited for the cold, as they lived in the tropical rainforests of Central and South America.

"Very well, we are in the pursuit," said Starfire as she and She-Bat flew closer towards him. She and Nightwing knew that now was the moment. If they could get him somewhere that he couldn't fly around in as much, they could administer the antidote.

Man-Bat let out another inhuman scream, flying straight for a militia sniper who was downright terrified out of his wits. Nothing in all his days in the army could have prepared him for this. Yet before he could react, Starfire flew up to him, holding Nightwing by his hands as he then let go, and landed on top of the monster, while it struggled to fly, screaming wildly as it tried to shake the former Robin off of him.

"Thrashing only makes me hold tighter!" Nightwing shouted, as he then pulled Man-Bat's head back, causing the creature to fly up into the sky. Starfire and She-Bat flew after them, while Orca and Beast Boy followed on the ground. Man-Bat flew all across Bleake Island, even then towards an old construction site near Osamu Tower and crashing straight through a brick wall. The force of impact was enough though for Nightwing to be forced off and begin falling. He broke it, by firing a grapnel gun onto the steel scaffolding, which saved him. Yet Man-Bat flew back around and snapped the cable with the claw on his right wing. Nightwing hit the scaffolding hard as he tried to grab hold, but found himself unable to break the fall.

"Robin!!" Starfire shouted as she quickly caught her boyfriend in her arms as she always did whenever he found himself unable to break his fall. She remembered how when she faced the same situation, he always was there to catch her. "You are okay?" She asked.

"I'm fine, just a bit shook up is all," he replied, once again grateful for the save. The two could then see She-Bat tackling her husband down onto an alleyway near the Cauldron trainyard. If she couldn't get through to him, then they'd have to resort to force.

"Kirk, please stop this!" She pleaded, "Honey, it's me! Francine, your wife! I know that you're still there, somewhere. You have to snap out of it!" She desperately wanted to have back the man she loved, who she spent years of her life with, not the monster in front of her now. Yet despite the attempt, Man-Bat took off again, but not before Beast Boy and Orca finally caught up with them. Orca leaped off of Beast Boy's back as he turned into a mountain gorilla and kicked him.

"Nightwing, Star, we've got him!" He said on the Titans' comm. link, "Got anything in the utility belt that can disorient him?" Beast Boy figured that perhaps a loud sound would stun Man-Bat long enough to keep him grounded.

"Just hang on, we're on our way," Nightwing replied, "Orca, you're gonna need to cover your ears for this." As they came in closer, Orca held her hands over her ears just as instructed. Then, using a handheld sonic transmitter, he cranked the volume so that it was loud enough only to affect Man-Bat only. The sound waves did their work; Man-Bat's sonar was completely disrupted as he writhed in agony trying to fly away. Yet Orca slapped him with her tail to stop him from struggling.

"Okay Nightwing, we're ready," she said as she and Starfire helped Beast Boy pin him down. Nightwing then took out the syringe from his utility belt, and injected the antidote directly into Kirk's bloodstream. As every last drop of the antidote coursed through his veins, the creature's body began to revert from monster to human, slowly but surely. The leathery wings turned back into regular human hands as the fur receded and the skull and head reverted back into that of a human. Everyone then let go and watched as Dr. Kirk Langstrom reverted back into his normal human self, albeit naked and unconscious.

"Let's get him back to the lab," said Nightwing as they all agreed it was probably best to get him out of this cold. Soon, they managed to return back to the Langstroms' lab, which they tried to repair to the best of their abilities, so that Kirk could have somewhere to lay down on and recover. Using the lab chair as a makeshift sick bed, Nightwing immediately placed some spare pants on him, much to everyone's relief. After a while, Kirk awoke, groggy and shaken by the fact he acted so violently and was reduced to an animalistic beast.

"He is okay?" Starfire asked Nightwing as they looked on.

"Physically, he will be, but not emotionally at the moment," he told her, looking on as Kirk remembered the last thing before his transformation.

"Wh...Wh...where's Francine? Where is she?!" He asked, traumatized and genuinely concerned. Then Nightwing nodded for her to come out. Cautiously Francine approached her husband, unsure of what he'd think of her current form.

"Kirk? Honey, are you yourself?" She asked, as she came into the light. Though she appeared like he did just moments earlier, Kirk recognized his wife nonetheless. She immediately embraced her husband tightly, not ever letting go.

"I'm so sorry, I never meant for any of this to happen," he told her as he returned the loving embrace, his voice trembling as he was nearly reduced to tears. "I only wanted to help people, and...I could've lost you." Francine only smiled as Kirk broke down in tears. He was ashamed of what he did, but grateful that his wife survived.

"It's okay baby, you weren't in control," she told him happily, "I know you never meant to hurt anyone, but it's all over now. The nightmare's finally over." Nightwing, Starfire and Beast Boy looked on, glad to know that things didn't turn out as bad as they could have been. Since nobody was injured, there was no need to bring Kirk back to GCPD.

"I'll stay behind to work on an antidote for Francine," said Orca, "If you guys need me, you know where I am." Grace knew that the best place for her was to help find an antidote for Francine's condition. Though she was proud of herself that her sonar finally worked on land, even if it wasn't as powerful as underwater.

"Thanks Orca, let us know if anything else comes up," said Nightwing as he and Starfire then looked to their fellow Titan. "Beast Boy, think you could stick around for a while? We could use your help in tracking down Jack Ryder."

"You mean the washed up TV reporter?" Gar asked, knowing what happened to Jack Ryder in Arkham City after he boasted about fighting with Batman to stop Deadshot from assassinating him. Yet the thought of getting an interview got him excited. "Okay, where do we start?" He then asked.

"Robin and I intended to return to the department of police to inquire of his whereabouts," said Starfire, "We have learned that he was last seen in the room of interviews whilst investigating a cult in Gotham." Nightwing knew that Gotham had a bit of history with some cults, one being the Order of St. Dumas, the last vestige and continuation of the Knights Templar. He remembered that the previous year, Batman encountered their knight, Azrael in Arkham City and delivered a message, one that seemed to be coming true.

"Alright, I'll tag along then, Goldie. The more the merrier!" Beast Boy exclaimed, and with that the three Titans made their way up top to the surface, intent to make their way back to the GCPD and get to the bottom of what Jack Ryder was looking into. Yet what they did not know was that someone was spying upon them.

* * *

From his position atop the Gotham railway, a shadowy figure observed the three Titans en route back to the GCPD. He finally realized why Scarecrow was losing his major allies so quickly, and he wasn't about to let this opportunity slip from his grasp, killing both Batman and the Titans.

"This night just keeps getting better," he muttered underneath his mask, he could settle his score with Batman and finally fulfill that old contract he took up years ago. At the thought of this, Slade Wilson smiled.

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A/N: Okay, so you guys cannot wait for me to introduce the rest of the Titans and the fight with Deathstroke, and I completely get that. I'm looking forward to writing that myself to be honest, but please just be patient. I can assure you that the other Titans will be making their appearances for the epic showdown, and that the fight against Deathstroke will definitely be epic, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to that point. In the meantime, I'll try to have another Titan make a debut in the upcoming chapter ahead. I'm not saying who it is though, since I don't want to spoil the fun.

Though, we've also got a bit of foreshadowing involved. Slade now knows that Nightwing has gotten loose and that Starfire is back on Earth. So, we are ramping up for the big fight towards the end. Now, my Titans roster is a bit different than what you'd expect, but as we saw throughout the series, it's based mostly on the iconic incarnation of the team that Marv Wolfman and George Pérez created in the 80's, and by far my favorite incarnation of the team.

For Man-Bat's screeching, I wanted to go off as something horrifying and sinister, since I knew that normal bat echolocation wasn't scary enough. However I decided to go with it sounding similar to the screams that the Nazgûl made in the _Lord Of the Rings_ trilogy, since those were pretty damn loud as they were scary. Also, if you didn't get it, the scene where some thugs mistook Man-Bat for a demon was a direct _Assassin's Creed II_ reference.

But that concludes the Man-Bat arc, and now we head towards who exactly kidnapped Jack Ryder. I'm not revealing any spoliers just yet, but it'll be a bit different from the game, for the sake of DC Continuity purposes. Let me know what you think, please leave a review, follow and favorite and stay tuned for more! :)


	13. Chapter 13: The Demon’s Legacy

Nightwing: Arkham Knight

 **DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING! ALL CHARACTERS BELONG TO DC COMICS. BATMAN - ARKHAMVERSE BELONGS TO DC ENTERTAINMENT, WB ENTERTAINMENT AND ROCKSTEADY GAMES. BATMAN BELONGS TO DC COMICS, BOB KANE AND BILL FINGER. NIGHTWING AND STARFIRE BELONG TO DC COMICS, MARV WOLFMAN AND GEORGE PÉREZ.**

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Chapter 13: The Demon's Legacy...

On their way back to the GCPD Lockup, Nightwing, Starfire and Beast Boy caught up with each other and what they were up to. Starfire told Beast Boy about Tamaran's destruction, which shocked him equally, but he was glad to hear how she and Dick were back together again. Dick even revealed how he and Orca were part of the Run-Offs, the team she was a part of, and how they were like the Titans, but different in that they didn't know him on the scale the Titans did. They also told him how they caught up with Flash and how he was doing.

"Sounds to me like Wally's got his hands full," Beast Boy said with a laugh as he flew alongside Starfire in his macaw form. This form made it easier for him to blend in, admittedly. He in turn told her about his short-lived attempt to get his Hollywood career started, but ended up framed for killing his former co-stars as part of an elaborate revenge scheme by Madame Rouge's daughter.

Kori was shocked that Madame Rouge was a mother. She remembered clearly how uneasy it made Beast Boy feel, even though Rouge clearly forgave him during her final moments. Though she was just glad he was cleared, and that Nightwing was there fighting alongside him the whole time.

"Perhaps one day Gemini will discover the truth, yes?" She asked, hopeful that this grudge Gemini held would end quickly. The last thing they needed was a new Brotherhood of Evil forming to terrorize the world. After all, nobody heard about the Brain and Monsieur Mallah's whereabouts for a while, and it was best to keep it that way in their opinion.

"If she doesn't turn herself into the same bipolar monster that her mother was, then I'd say she probably will," said Beast Boy, a bit of melancholy in his tone. He still never got over the fact his actions led to Madame Rouge's death. Yet he was trying to get past that constantly, hence his cheery joking facade he put on to hide some of that pain.

"What happened back then wasn't your fault, Gar," said Nightwing, knowing what it was like to live with such guilt. Once, he killed the Joker for a brief moment after being tricked into thinking the Clown Prince of Crime killed Tim, in the same way he killed Jason Todd. However, Batman managed to perform CPR to save Joker's life, but Dick still never forgot the shock of taking a life and vowed never to lose control of his emotions. Each of them remembered when Cyborg's ex-girlfriend, Marcy Reynolds was killed trying to escape from a quasi-satanic cult and how it nearly derailed him to the point of murder. They each experienced murderous intent before in their teenage years, but now as adults, they learned from those experiences and were better people for it. "In any case, we've got a missing-persons case to look into," he then told them, as they arrived at the GCPD parking garage.

Dick placed the bike in park, Kori landing closely beside him and Gar turning back into his normal form, before the three of them made their way back inside. Beast Boy got a first glimpse of the crammed and packed holding cells, now even fuller than ever. He was genuinely freaked out when he saw the Dollotrons, since their masks alone were enough to shock him. He'd seen some weird stuff in his time with the Doom Patrol and the Titans, but nothing on this scale.

"Okay, those are either brainwashed victims, or someone's into some pretty twisted fetishes," he said, somewhat intrigued and disgusted at the same time. Both Nightwing and Starfire were thankful he just didn't see Professor Pyg actually turning the poor people into those things as they did. They quickly made their way down the hall, past the militia and thugs all shouting and yelling to be let loose. The Titans had been through similar circumstances before, and just moved on, making their way on towards the interview room. "So, what the hell was Ryder doing that caused him to up and vanish?" Beast Boy asked Nightwing.

"Starfire and I couldn't get the details, but it sounds like he was onto something involving the Lady of Gotham statue in the center of Gotham Bay," Nightwing replied, "We'll need more evidence though if we wanna find out what he was up to, and what it has to do with the Lady of Gotham."

"Robin is correct. However I have a hunch that it is someone we may have known all too well," said Starfire. She couldn't help but recall all the times they faced supernatural foes before such as the Fearsome Five's Psimon, Mr. Twister, even against the Titans of Myth when Kronos led a rebellion against Zeus. The Titans helped Wonder Girl out during that time, and Kronos and his allies were reimprisoned in Tartarus for good, never to return to rule the mortal world. Even their sometimes ally, Captain Marvel used magic based powers.

"Only one way to find out," Nightwing replied as they made their way towards the door. The room was empty, save for a table that Ryder used to operate from. Nearby was a video camera on a tripod, while the table had a multi-divided folder, wanted posters, a map of Gotham, an old tape recorder with five cassette tapes Ryder labeled dating from October 15th to now. Lastly there was an intricate ceremonial dagger placed down on the table. It had a flame blade with a gilded hilt shaped like the head and wings of a dragon, and a barbed arrowhead shaped pommel.

"Anyone recognize this kind of dagger?" Beast Boy asked as he examined it, "I feel that we've seen this type of hilt design before. Either that, or whoever forged it must've been way too obsessed with _Skyrim_."

"I have no knowledge of that planet, Beast Boy," said Starfire as she examined the wanted posters. This reminded the green shape-shifter that she still was a bit naïve at times.

"That's because it's a video game," he explained as he looked around for any further clues Ryder could've left behind. Nightwing then noticed the cassette tapes in front of him. This proved that despite this being the 21st century, some Gothamites were still relying on tech from 30 years ago. Wayne Enterprises was trying to shift away from that though.

"Maybe Ryder left a clue in one of his recordings," said Nightwing as he ejected the current tape and inserted the first one in. "Let's see what he's been digging himself into." As he hit the play button after closing the hatch, and the trio listened in on what Ryder was following up on since the 15th. The audio switched from Ryder's voice to a middle-aged man spewing scripture about a New World Order, light and fire, cleansing sins, and all sorts of apocalyptic nonsense. The Titans knew better than to pay attention to the ramblings of religious nuts, but this was exceptional. They all carefully listened for clues about their mystery preacher, though from Ryder's comments, it sounded like this man wasn't just waiting for the Apocalypse, he wanted to make it happen.

"I do not enjoy what he is saying," said Starfire as she leaned in close to Nightwing. As if Scarecrow's plan to turn Gotham and then the world into a planet ruled by ceaseless fear, now they had a man who wanted to bring about the end of days in Gotham as well. "My planet was destroyed, and I will not let that happen to this planet too. We cannot let this heretical priest fulfill his prophecies."

"We won't, Star. We'll find out who he is and we'll stop him," said Nightwing, as he put in the second tape and played it. This one dated from the 19th, and included an old interview with a sewage worker named Terry Noonan. He gave a vivid description of Gotham's sewers, which freaked both Starfire and Beast Boy out completely. They were both wigged out at the thought of giant fat deposits on the walls, rats as big as dogs and creatures with enough teeth and fur like out of a horror movie. Nightwing, however, was used to the Gotham sewers. They were fine, if not a bit gross. Alfred even noted that the souvenirs of Gotham's sewers were best left under the streets.

"No way am I going down into this city's sewers," said Beast Boy, adamantly expressing his disgust. The look on his face even suggested he was near close to vomiting.

"Don't worry Beast Boy, I'm sure we won't," Nightwing replied with a chuckle, "Besides, it's not too bad down there. He's just exaggerating." Of course, Dick had complained as well about the sewers early on in his tenure as Robin. At least he was thankful that the sewers of Jump City were much cleaner than Gotham's. They continued to listen to the tape, Noonan describing how he heard chanting, like one would expect in a church, and that it'd been going on for months now. Ryder's comments revealed that Noonan was found dead not too long afterwards, his corpse stuffed into one of the giant fat deposits and it seemed he found something forbidden.

Then they played the third tape, dating back to just 5 days earlier. Ryder's narration explained how as he searched through the archives, he found a link to the mystery priest. They listened to an old interview that Harvey Bullock conducted after the GCPD arrested a vagrant who had a link with this mystery man. The homeless man said that he had no name anymore, and he was one of the chosen, a disciple of this priest who claimed he could save Gotham, like an old Abrahamic prophet. The audio said that the preacher claimed to be alive for 1000 years, and was thus immortal. Almost immediately, the three Titans had a bad hunch about who it was they were dealing with. Then the audio revealed more, one particular clue that was vital. This man bathed in blood. Instantly they all knew who it was.

"Brother Blood!" Beast Boy and Starfire shouted in unison. An angry Nightwing stopped the tape and pounded his fist on the table in rage. This was something he dreaded hearing, that an old foe of the Titans was now in Gotham and up to his old tricks again. They had a history with this madman and his cult, the Church of Blood, one they hoped would end one day.

The Church of Blood was founded in 1202, at the beginning of the Baltic Crusades, on the island of Zandia. Its self-appointed leader was also its self-proclaimed living messiah, aptly named Brother Blood. It was believed that by bathing in pools of blood from human sacrifices, Brother Blood was immortal, when the truth was that he wasn't. The name Brother Blood was a mantle passed down when the incumbent holder of the name was murdered by his own son, who then took up that identity until the cycle repeated itself. For 9 centuries, the mantle was passed down through 7 generations in acts of patricide, right up to the present day. Via manipulation, brainwashing and a powerful sense of charisma, Brother Blood founded satellite churches across the world. They professed peace and harmony, but in reality they wanted nothing more than to bring about their master to rule the world: Trigon. Time and again, Brother Blood tried to bring about the end of the world, but he was defeated by the Teen Titans. The Church of Blood was never heard from again for years until now.

"I-I don't get it, Nightwing," said Beast Boy, utterly confused by what was going on, "I thought we beat Brother Blood. What the hell is he doing in Gotham?!"

"My guess, he's up to his old tricks again," Nightwing replied, angry at himself for not realizing the threat sooner. They all agreed on not needing to listen to any further tapes, since they knew Brother Blood's methods for this ritual. The victims were tied to a table or altar by their wrists and ankles with thick ropes and cables to restrain them, while the neck was then slit, severing the esophagus and main arteries, thus draining the body of blood. The victims were stripped naked and their clothes burnt along with any personal items like jewelry or electronics. Most of the blood was used as part of Brother Blood's bathing ritual, while some was used to paint intricate symbols on walls.

"We cannot allow Brother Blood to summon Trigon once again," said Starfire, intent on beating him for good this time. She still wanted revenge for the two times he brainwashed Dick while the latter was still Robin.

"Totally with you there, Goldie!" Beast Boy exclaimed, cracking his knuckles and barring his fangs. He had his own reasons for wanting a shot at Blood.

"Then let's go! Ryder's got no idea what he's gotten himself into," said Nightwing, who was more mentally prepared to counter Brother Blood's brainwashing effects than he was as Robin.

Then, before anyone could react next, a circle of black energy appeared on the wall, surrounded by a purple and white aura, and the trio saw coming out of it a gray-skinned beauty in a dazzling white cloak, complete with a peaked hood, and a sleeveless white one-piece leotard with ankle high white boots, fingerless long gloves and a clasp belt around her hips. Instantly they knew who she was. It was Raven, their best friend and fellow Titan. Taking off her hood, she revealed her face and cascade of long flowing purple hair. The chakra on her forehead was as brilliant as ever, and she still retained her signature purple eyes.

"You guys aren't kicking his ass without me, are ya?" She asked, smiling at her fellow Titans, a sign that she was finally freed from her father's demonic influence, which was a path that started ever since she could remember.

Raven was the illegitimate daughter of Gotham City native, Angela Roth, a former cultist, and Trigon, the very demon venerated by the Church of Blood. She was born and raised in the dimension of Azarath, a peaceful and idyllic utopia. Yet due to her heritage, she was isolated and made an outcast. When she was a little girl, Trigon came to her and tried to corrupt and use her as his portal to conquer Earth, but she renounced him and sealed him away in Hell, having activated her powers for the first time. Yet at the age of 14, she realized his true intentions and fled Azarath to Earth hoping to find help. At first she tried the Justice League, but they turned her down when Zatanna suspected it was a trap. However, as she made her way to Jump City, she witnessed Starfire's arrival on Earth and met Robin, Beast Boy, Kid Flash, Cyborg and Wonder Girl; helped them to defeat the Gordanians and became a co-founder of the Teen Titans.

At first, Raven was distant and set herself apart from her teammates, not wanting to reveal any information about herself, but not long after the team's founding, her past finally caught up with her, and she was forced to admit the truth. Much to her surprise, though, the Titans remained firmly by her side and helped her fight and defeat Trigon twice. Even when Nightwing, Flash and Starfire went their separate ways for their own reasons, Raven remained firmly with the Titans, since she saw them as her family. Now that she was freed from Trigon's influence, she was able to experience emotions for the first time, and still able to use her powers she inherited from her father. She even began taking on small non-malignant traits such as pointed ears, larger canines and small claws on her fingers.

"Raven!!!" Starfire exclaimed as she hugged her best friend happily. Their bond had come a long way since they first met. Initially, they were polar opposites in terms of their personalities, but after Raven opened up to them about her past, the two became more open, given the fact they were among the few girls on the Titans along with Wonder Girl.

"Raven, what're you doing here in Gotham?" Nightwing asked, even though he was excited to see her as well. He was among the first people to accept her despite her heritage when they first met. As a result she trusted him like a true friend.

"Flash filled me in that you were having some trouble in Gotham," said Raven, "Plus, you know how things get whenever Blood tries to summon my dad." It was clearly evident that Raven was eager and looking forward to defeating both Blood and stopping Trigon, since he was defeated when the people of Azarath helped the Titans by freeing Raven from Trigon's control and subsequently aided her in sealing him back into Hell. Yet his dark influence corrupted them, twisted them to his will. However they were unable to corrupt her. Using her teachings she learned as a child, Raven was able to overcome Trigon's influence, and in turn was able to sense whenever someone was trying to free him.

"We definitely could use your help," Nightwing replied, "You're the only one of us who can sense this kind of magic. Blood's kidnapped Jack Ryder and is holding him at the Lady of Gotham for a sacrifice. Ryder's never faced Blood like we have; he doesn't know what he's getting himself into."

"You guys already have it," she said, making her way to Beast Boy's side, and looked at Starfire again, "Star, I'm glad you're back."

"I am grateful to be back," the Tamaranean princess replied, "Now let us hurry, we must prevent Brother Blood from bringing forth the end of time!" She had a lot of catching up to do with her best friend, but now wasn't the time.

"Then we'll converge on his location," said Nightwing as he looked to his teammates. "Titans, move out!" He shouted and the four heroes made their way outside. They had a demon to stop.

* * *

A/N: That's right! We have Brother Blood acting in Deacon Blackfire's place! Now, I went ahead and made the switch because in the comics, Deacon Blackfire was just a one-shot villain who was a charlatan and a con-man. In the game, Blackfire also says that he bathes in blood to draw forth power, when he did not in the comics. So I realized that all these traits he had in the game were synonymous with Brother Blood, another one of Marv Wolfman and George Pérez's villains they created for _The New Teen Titans_ , and by far one of the most enduring.

For those of you familiar with the _Teen_ _Titans_ cartoon, Brother Blood was depicted as the headmaster of the HIVE Academy and the main antagonist of Season 3, serving as Cyborg's arch-nemesis, who used mind control and read Cyborg's blueprints for his own advantage. In the comics, Brother Blood was even more powerful than that. He was a servant of Trigon bent on world domination so that his master could bring about the apocalypse. His appearance in the comics is also way cooler than in the cartoon. At one point, he even kidnapped and brainwashed Nightwing in the comics.

Since these next chapters are dealing with the supernatural, I knew I had to go with Raven as the next Titan introduced in the arc. Now, I know you're all probably wondering why Raven's wearing all white rather than her usual blue clothes. That's because in the comics, after _Crisis on Infinite Earths_ , Raven wore white for a decade as a way to show she's free of Trigon's influences. Also, in the original comics, Raven had long hair and went for the sleeveless look. The mention of the souls of Azarath stopping Trigon is adapted from a great story arc of _The New Teen_ _Titans_ called _The Terror of Trigon_ , which is about as dark as things got in the series.

So, that concludes this chapter, and we finally get to Brother Blood! Let me know what you guys think, favorite, follow and review, and stay tuned for more!


	14. Chapter 14: Out for Blood!

Nightwing: Arkham Knight

 **DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING! ALL CHARACTERS BELONG TO DC COMICS. BATMAN - ARKHAMVERSE BELONGS TO DC ENTERTAINMENT, WB ENTERTAINMENT AND ROCKSTEADY GAMES. BATMAN BELONGS TO DC COMICS, BOB KANE AND BILL FINGER. NIGHTWING AND STARFIRE BELONG TO DC COMICS, MARV WOLFMAN AND GEORGE PÉREZ.**

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Chapter 14: Out for Blood!

Making their way across the Cauldron district, Nightwing, Starfire, Raven and Beast Boy took a route that would cause them to end up hidden from anything going on near the Lady of Gotham. The island housed both the monument, as well as an arena where cage fights were usually held. Yet it also held some supernatural significance. According to the oral stories of the Miagani tribe, long ago they were approached by a man named Black Fire; he claimed that he was a holy man with powers to heal, and was welcomed in by the tribe. Within a few years, however, he soon took over the tribe and proved to be a cruel and inhuman tyrant. In consequence, the Miagani chieftain, named Paleface, demanded that Black Fire leave their lands, never to return. However, in response, he killed Paleface, which sparked a rebellion by the Miagani. Eventually, the Miagani captured Black Fire, pinned him with arrows, and locked him in a deep cave, located directly beneath where the Lady of Gotham now stood.

According to the legend, this shaman also bathed in blood and gained immortality. Initially Nightwing believed there was a connection between Shaman Black Fire and Brother Blood. Tonight would prove that theory.

"Okay, if anything the mass is being held at the arena at the base of the monument," said Nightwing. He knew the area well from when he and Jason would go and watch wrestling matches. This was a disgraceful and low act, even for Blood. The Lady Of Gotham stood for Justice and protection, and now his actions could bring about the opposite. They couldn't let that happen.

"Robin, do not succumb to his power," Starfire warned her boyfriend, "You are well aware of what happened previously when we have faced him."

"Yeah, not something I like to remember," Dick replied, "It's not gonna be like how it was before. This time, I'm ready for that." He also remembered how when they previously faced Brother Blood, he made every attempt to make himself seem the victim via his own news channel WUBS, whose anchor, Bethany Snow, was a cult member of the Church of Blood, and she made every attempt to vilify the Titans, but after the failure of Blood's worldwide revolution, all the Church of Blood's associates were arrested, after the truth was revealed. Though it seemed this time Blood was less concerned on physical force and more on the Church of Blood's mystical power.

Starfire picked up Nightwing into her arms as they made their way over the water towards the Lady of Gotham. A bolt of gold and red lightning made its way over as well: Flash had definitely returned. Dick of course knew that this time it wasn't because he was forced to. In the early days of the Teen Titans, when they were still ex-sidekicks, Raven once even made attempts to force Wally to fall in love with her, and thus have him stay on the team. It worked, until Barry's death and Wally was forced to take up the mantle of the Flash. He couldn't spend any time with the Titans then, due to his duties protecting Keystone and Central City as well as being a core member of the Justice League.

"Hey guys, sorry for the abrupt exit," he said on their comm. links, "Got an anonymous lead on some of the rogues, slowed me down." After he helped Bruce, Dick and Kori deal with Killer Croc, Wally had a bit of a run in with a coalition of rogues of his: Captain Cold, Mirror Master, Weather Wizard and Captain Boomerang. Though it was a tough fight, he defeated them nonetheless. Luckily the Keystone City PD were more than happy to place Cold and Mirror Master in the holding cells, while Boomerang was sent to his usual cell in Belle Reve, in case Amanda Waller needed him on the Suicide Squad again.

"No problem Wally, we've got bigger issues tonight," Dick replied as they all came in for a landing. It almost seemed like the old team was back, even if they were just short two people.

"Uh, guys?" Beast Boy asked as he reverted into his human form, "Does anyone remember that being there?" The Titans turned to the arena and saw an 8 feet tall statue of Trigon carved from limestone. Instantly they all glared at the sight of it, having remembered the damage caused when he took over the world. He turned the Earth into a living hell, which was horrifying beyond belief. Luckily, Raven was able to use her powers to protect the Titans from Trigon's effects, which helped in their attempt to defeat him. Whoever carved the statue was definitely one with an eye for detail. The statue depicted Trigon perfectly, so much so that it seemed it would come to life at any second. However, it only depicted him from the waist up, since it was so top-heavy.

"We can't let them detect us," Raven whispered as she donned her hood, "Anyone have a plan?" Though she was powerful, Raven wasn't the best strategist, as she found out when she first approached the Justice League to ask for help stopping her father. Since Nightwing, Starfire, Flash and Beast Boy were experienced fighters since they were little kids, they knew what to do.

"Well, definitely no infiltrating the cult this time," said Nightwing, "None of us wants to be brainwashed again."

"Perhaps we should attack from above. They will be unable to notice us in the dark," Starfire suggested.

"I could turn myself into a flea or a mite," said Beast Boy, knowing those were small enough nobody could see them with the naked eye.

"Okay, Flash, you and Raven may wanna keep yourselves out of sight until we make our move," Nightwing told the two of them.

"Just say the word and we'll be there," replied the Scarlet Speedster. Raven only nodded in response, knowing that she'd be able to hide their presences with her powers.

"Then let's go!" Nightwing whispered, and they all took their places and positions. Nightwing and Starfire made their way to the lamp posts surrounding the arena's chain link fence, Beast Boy turned first into a gnat, and then into a spider and spun a web in a corner, while Flash and Raven stayed out of sight by the fence. They all saw in on the arena floor the acolytes of the Church of Blood, made recognizable by their attire of black and red. The men dressed in the style of monks, to the point they even underwent the tonsure that Medieval monks practiced. The nuns however were dressed mostly as one would expect, except from the waist down, as their skirts had openings for their legs, and not one of them wore a crucifix around their necks. In the center was a deep pool filled with the blood of innocent victims. It had even been stirred to prevent it from clotting. Grooves in the floor led to a stairway and from there to an altar, where, tied by his wrists and ankles by leather cuffs, was Jack Ryder. From the look on his face, he was terrified beyond belief. Surrounding the pool and the altar were braziers with burning fires, while crates full of guns were flanking the altar.

Then, at the altar, stood Brother Blood himself. His appearance hadn't changed since the last time he fought the Titans. He wore his red armor with a black scapular covering his torso and groin. On his belt he carried an arming sword with a demonic hilt, while over his shoulders he wore the white cloak, the cloak said to have been worn by Christ while he prayed on the Mount of Olives, now corrupted with Trigon's power. Atop his head was the signature skull helmet of his which he wore over a coif of mail armor to protect his head and neck. In his left hand was the Book of Blood, a Medieval manuscript in codex form that explained the rites and history of the cult.

"My dear brethren," he began, "We are gathered here tonight to witness the redemption of all mankind! For tonight, the sins of the world shall be cleansed in the blood of our enemies, which shall fertilize the land in a storm of purification." Nightwing then noticed the crates of guns and an idea sparked in his mind.

"First, how about we disable those things," he whispered to Starfire as he pulled out a similar weapons disruptor to the one Batman had. "Lucius really outdid himself this time." Starfire marveled in the device, since she saw it for the first time.

"And you are certain this will neutralize their guns, yes?" She whispered back.

"Oh yeah," he replied softly as he then shot the two crates. Luckily it made no sound at all, and the cultists had their heads bowed in subservience to Blood, so they couldn't see the darts buzzing by them. "Anyone hoping to get one now will be in for a shock." Starfire giggled lightly at the description before Nightwing opened the comm. links for the others, "Okay, weapons neutralized. Let's go down there!" He told them. Then he and Starfire dropped down onto the floor, spooking the cultists and gaining Blood's attention. "Hate to break it to you, but your sermons mean nothing in this town!" He declared.

"Ah, my dear friends, it's been so long," Blood remarked, grinning confidently as he stepped around the altar to confront them.

"Nightwing! Is that you? G-g-get me outta here!" Jack Ryder pleaded as he struggled to keep his head and neck up. He could barely see him, but he made Nightwing out from the blue patterned bird insignia across his chest and shoulders.

"Come to save your reporter friend, have you? Unfortunately, that is not an option I can allow," said Blood as he stepped down and sheathed his dagger.

"Your motives betray your loyalties, Brother Blood," said Starfire as she readied her starbolts for action. "You are Trigon's servant; you are not the pawn of the Scarecrow."

"Oh how ignorant you always have been, princess," Blood insulted, "Dr. Crane's interests and mine are aligned for the moment. Scarecrow's victory shall hasten Lord Trigon's return." Then he set down the book and drew his sword, the blade being flame patterned like that of a flamberge, "And all shall tremble and fall before his might!" Blood roared, "My children, the heathens have come to disrupt the rising yet again! Kill them where they stand! Make haste, the hour of sacrifice is at hand!" The clergy then drew their own swords, spears and maces as they all charged forward.

"Titans, Together!" Nightwing shouted and at that instant, Beast Boy and Flash came to the fold, just before the fence was electrified. The Titans proved adept fighters unlike the previous experiences with the Church of Blood. Nightwing and Starfire fought as a pair, taking down as many cultists as they could, while Flash did the same, evading all the blows aimed at him and knocking out a few monks and nuns. Beast Boy turned into a bison and charged two dozen of the clergy. Some even were electrified by the fence. Those who were unarmed ran for the weapons crates, only to be shocked into unconsciousness. All the while, Jack Ryder pleaded for Blood to untie him. Pretty soon, all the cultists were knocked into unconsciousness.

"This game is growing tiresome, wouldn't you agree, Titans?" Blood asked, frustrated by his disciples' weakness, "Now, behold and tremble as with this heathen's blood, Lord Trigon shall rise again to cleanse the world of sin and depravity!"

"It is you who shall behold and tremble," said Starfire with a confident grin, "RAVEN, NOW!" She then shouted, and the statue of Trigon seemingly came to life as it began to move. Blood looked up in awe and shock as he initially thought Trigon was indeed about to speak to him. Yet then he saw the cracks in the stone forming.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" Raven's voice shouted, as the statue crumbled in a wave of white energy that then restrained Brother Blood and immobilized him. Raven stood where the statue once did and she and the other Titans made their way towards their now powerless enemy. "Don't count on my father's return tonight," Raven told him, glaring at him.

"This is not over, do you hear me!?" Blood demanded, "I will return one day to bring about judgement on the wicked! Lord Trigon will rise again!"

"Not anytime soon," said Nightwing, "You've failed, Blood. Just like before, and this time you're staying down!" Then he and Starfire punched him with a blow to the jaw, incapacitating him as he hit the ground.

"What took you?" Jack Ryder asked as Beast Boy slashed one of his restraints on his wrists with his claws, but the reporter then smiled at the heroes, showing his usual bravado as he freed himself, "I'm kidding. Thanks for the save, you guys. Looks like I got my story. This is it, Nightwing. This could get me back in the game. My own show. Hey, first guests, how about it? The real Titans? Your stories." The thought of this sent Beast Boy's eyes wide with excitement. Having been a former actor, he was no stranger to the spotlight.

"My teammates and I may consider that at some point," Nightwing replied, seeing the look on Gar's face, "But first thing's first: we've gotta get you back to GCPD. We'll talk more later." Unlike Batman, who considered Ryder a nuisance, Nightwing found him tolerable since his intentions, though controversial, were good. Raven wrapped up Blood in a cocoon of white energy and formed a pat of it for Ryder to sit on. Flash took Brother Blood's sword as a spoil for the evidence room back at Titans Tower, a habit he picked up ever since the Teen Titans first started, which Beast Boy even inherited. Starfire scooped up Nightwing in her arms, Beast Boy turned into a golden eagle and they all made their way back to GCPD. By the time the Titans returned to the rooftop elevator, Cash was waiting for them, since Dick warned him about Blood earlier.

"You're heading into my church now, friar," said Cash as he took Blood and cuffed him. Luckily the cuffs were made of titanium, and there were two other officers with guns trained on him.

"Lo and behold, Titans. Do you not understand? Scarecrow has already won. This fight is over," said Blood as he was held down despite his strength and disarmed of his dagger, which would be sent straight to evidence, along with the book of blood and the chalice on the altar.

"It is not over until we declare it is over, Brother Blood," said Starfire as she glared at him. She then nodded to Nightwing since she was done talking to him.

"You heard my girlfriend. Take him down to the cells," said the former Robin, as Jack Ryder accompanied them down for the ride. As the doors closed, the four Titans sighed in relief. They already had enough to deal with saving Gotham on their hands, but dealing with Trigon as well was overwhelming for one night.

"I'm really glad he didn't have a son," said Beast Boy, remembering how Brother Blood's consort, Mother Mayhem gave birth to a daughter, thus ending the cycle of patricide that lasted for 800 years.

"I know, right? Who would ever wanna imagine what that would've been like?" Flash asked as they all laughed at the thought. There was no way that Trigon was ever coming back now. Even if he did, they'd be ready to stop him, as they always have. After a while, they all decided to head back inside to beat the cold and catch up. They were lucky that they didn't have to use the lower garage entrance this time, even though they knew Raven would definitely have no reaction to how creepy the dollotrons were. As the doors opened when it landed on the maximum security lockup level, every officer, firefighter and civilian employee could see the five Titans in all their stride making their way in. Among them, was Barbara Gordon, who was beaten up badly while captured by Scarecrow.

Yet she was happy when she saw him and Kori smiling as the Tamaranean princess clung to his arm. She was still ashamed of herself for the way she ignored him and was unfaithful, but she was also glad that Starfire was back for him. She knew that Kori would be able to care for him and that he could definitely make her happy.

' _You'd better not break her heart, Dick Grayson_ ,' she thought as she turned away, maintaining herself so that she wouldn't have a meltdown in front of the firefighters nearby. As for the five Titans, they headed towards the evidence room for a quiet place to catch up, and it didn't seem like there were any further threats in Gotham aside from Scarecrow that needed to be dealt with.

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A/N: As promised, I did bring Flash back into the story, and don't worry, we will be seeing Cyborg and the other Titans soon. I'm just giving them a bit of a break for the time being like I did after Mr. Freeze. Though we finally have most of the Titans here, and it's only about to get better from here on out, I promise you guys that.

I know what most of you may think, that priests and monks do not use bladed weapons, given that they don't like bloodshed. This is actually false. This is actually a myth that became part of our popular culture because of _Dungeons and Dragons_. I even thought the same way until I actually started researching this topic. For example, in _The Song of Roland_ , an old Medieval poem, the Archbishop of Turin was noted as having used "a sword of burnished steel". For the Church of Blood's religious habits, I based them off of what the cultists wore in _The New Teen Titans_ comics, while Brother Blood's appearance was based off his appearance in the _Outsiders_ series that Judd Winick wrote.

Now, the Trigon statue was something I added in after doing research on Brother Blood and his depiction in the _Smallville_ comic, and in the background of one panel, there is a statue of Trigon behind Blood. For my take I decided to have the statue bigger to give off that Satanic cult feel to it. I also decided to have it going from the waist up as a reference to _Dante's Inferno_ where Lucifer is imprisoned in ice up to his waist. Oh, and the part where I had Blood mention that Scarecrow's victory would help Trigon's return, that was actually inspired from _Injustice: Gods Among Us_ , mainly the scene in the campaign where regime Raven reveals that if regime Superman wins, her father will return.

Lastly, I want to point out that the little cameo with Oracle I added in at the end was just a little something I wanted to add in, because I felt it would be wrong to have her portrayed in this story in a purely negative light for breaking Dick's heart. So this was just my way of showing how she was accepting that her and Dick's relationship was over and that she was acknowledging the fact that he was with Starfire again.

But that concludes it for this chapter, guys! Leave a review, follow and favorite and as always, I'll see you soon! :)


	15. Chapter 15: The Calm Before the Storm

Nightwing: Arkham Knight

 **DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING! ALL CHARACTERS BELONG TO DC COMICS. _BATMAN: ARKHAM_ BELONGS TO DC ENTERTAINMENT, WB ENTERTAINMENT, AND ROCKSTEADY GAMES. BATMAN BELONGS TO DC COMICS, BOB KANE AND BILL FINGER. NIGHTWING AND STARFIRE BELONG TO DC COMICS, MARV WOLFMAN AND GEORGE PÉREZ.**

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Chapter 15: The Calm Before the Storm...

The G.C.P.D. Evidence Room had gotten quite the collection since the beginning of this so-called "Operation Savior" happened tonight. The rear archives were filled with all the weapons and items that Batman gave the G.C.P.D. from when Arkham City was finally shut down, but the front section was obviously full of weapons, equipment and tools from villains that both Batman and Nightwing had beaten tonight. Yet they didn't have time to notice anything when Raven and Beast Boy dropped the bombshell announcement, shocking their three teammates.

"You're dating!?" Nightwing asked, unable to believe what he was hearing now. He remembered the last time he dated someone on the team and how badly that turned out. However, the thought of he and Raven being a couple like he and Kori were was just completely mind-blowing. They were polar opposites of each other, and it took Raven a year to actually start liking him as a friend, after he, Cyborg and Wally were able to help her control her anger.

"Oh how wonderful! How long has this happened?" Starfire asked, so happy to hear that Raven and Beast Boy were a couple now. She knew that once Raven accidentally thought she was in love with Nightwing and used her powers to make him reciprocate those feelings. Kori had to give her friend an explanation of the difference between romantic and platonic love, but she wasn't offended by it. This was when they'd just defeated Trigon and she was freed from his negative influence, and thus free to experience emotions for the first time.

"Oh, we've been dating for about 2 years now," Beast Boy replied. He generally seemed perfectly fine with the relationship he and Raven now had. In the early days of the Teen Titans, Garfield initially had a crush on Kori, but those were quickly crushed when she and Dick became a couple. After that, he tried to sway several other girls with his less than charming sense of humor. However, over the years he and Raven began to bond closer. After Starfire was forced to stay behind on Tamaran, and Nightwing left back to Gotham, and Flash started coming less often due to his duties with the Justice League, Raven and Beast Boy became closer with each other, confiding in one another when the other was down, until finally they recognized each other's feelings.

"It took a while, but we finally worked things out," said Raven, grinning as she saw Starfire sitting in Nightwing's lap after he got into the chair behind the desk. "More importantly, congrats on you two getting back together." This caused both Dick and Kori to blush so deeply that their faces turned bright red. They initially were hoping that they'd have it be a surprise for when they got back to the Tower, but given that Raven could sense the emotions of others as part of her powers, there was no hiding it.

Flash returned at that moment, having run out for a brief second to get some snacks from the vending machines. Of course, the Titans weren't surprised by this. Ever since he was Kid Flash, Wally always had a hyper-accelerated metabolism, so he needed to eat constantly to recharge his speed. He never even gained weight because he burned all he ate off by running, but his massive appetite was enough to turn a lot of heads, while also emptying out his loved ones' wallets every time they went out. Initially even Beast Boy was shocked, commenting that speedsters were like bottomless pits. Yet now that they all grew up with each other, they gotten used to the fact.

"Dude, there's no hiding it, we've grown up together for 7 years," said Beast Boy, who knew full and well that this could happen at some point. It was only natural that Starfire would want to get back together with Nightwing.

"I will not deny it, Robin and I are indeed together once more," she said, deciding to accept this fact, since the two of them were with their fellow Titans. She then informed Raven about Tamaran's destruction, and how life had been for her since then prior to tonight. Raven sensed that was why she was back now, because she had no other home left except Earth. However, right then and there, Nightwing's face drained of color. "Robin, what is the matter?" Starfire asked, concerned.

"Guys, I think Scarecrow's at the Movie Studios," said Nightwing, "We've been using it as a makeshift base for some time. Commissioner Gordon's voice was just used to gain access." He knew that Bruce showed him the studios as a base just a few days prior to the evacuation, but this meant they were now compromised. Dick assumed that Jim was being held hostage by Scarecrow, for Barbara's sake. "Nightwing to Robin, you there?" He asked on the comm. link, but he got no response, "Tim, do you read me!?" Instantly Dick was horrified as he turned to his teammates, "I can't get in touch with Robin. We have to..." he couldn't finish. A booming rumble shook the entire building as emergency lights began blaring.

"What the heck was that?! An earthquake?!" Beast Boy asked, as he held onto the desk.

"No, we're not back in Jump City," Raven told her boyfriend as she donned her hood. Since they lived in California, the Titans were no stranger to earthquakes, but Jump City didn't suffer as many since they were south of the San Andreas Fault, so they did not suffer the same damage as cities like San Francisco.

"Um, Robin?" Starfire asked as she noticed the computer screen turn on. They all huddled around as they then saw Scarecrow's face projecting onto the monitor. His appearance had drastically changed since the Arkham Riots. The injuries dealt to him by Croc were more than obvious enough to make out. He was now missing some teeth, went blind in his right eye, and was missing his nose and upper lip. He also underwent surgery as well, since his jaw was now threaded to his mask and two gas mask filters were protruding from them. He even sported a trenchcoat that held multiple vials of his fear toxin. All in all, he resembled a corpse. Starfire held Nightwing tightly as she looked away, obviously repulsed by Crane's appearance.

"Gallant police force of Gotham, I have a message for you," he said in a deeper more gravelly voice. His windpipe had been so damaged by Croc's attack that he underwent a respiratory bypass, and his gas mask was now surgically grafted into his throat. "You are not safe. You are defenseless. Batman will not save you. This is the beginning of the end for you, Dark Knight." Then the transmission ended and Nightwing knew what they had to do.

"Titans, we've got trouble!" He said, "Let's show Scarecrow what it means to mess with us!" Starfire only nodded with her boyfriend, while Raven, Beast Boy and Flash looked to the two of them in confidence.

"We will demonstrate to the Scarecrow that we are not to be trifled with," Starfire then said, as she pressed a button on her old Titans' comm. link, that broadcast a signal to let any other Titans know that they were needed in action. Raven, Beast Boy and Flash nodded at the couple, since they were among the leading figures in the Titans. This was their moment now, to show Scarecrow what they were made of. They all rushed out of the evidence room and towards the parking garage.

"Nightwing!" Oracle told her ex, grinning confidently, "Good luck out there, hit 'em hard!" Nightwing and Starfire only nodded to Oracle as they passed her. The pounding and rumbling continued as they could see the officers with their guns drawn and ready for the battle ahead. Cash even gave his subordinates a prep talk about how they weren't going to let the prisoners have the chance to escape. As they passed the holding cells, they saw Jack Ryder holding the dagger he found while investigating Brother Blood as a weapon, and the inmates all cheering and taunting the cops on how they were going to die. The dollotrons, however were huddled together, obviously terrified for their lives. Finally, as the Titans entered the garage, they were ready for battle. They saw two militia APCs coming inside, and assumed more were on the way.

"Cash, full lockdown! Now!" Nightwing told Cash on the comm. link, as he took out his escrima sticks ready for a fight. The militia began pouring out as the garage doors closed, but not before a familiar flash of black and red zoomed in at the last minute. Three soldiers were hit unconscious by mere pebbles of all things. However, the Titans recognized the figure in front of them, a beautiful young black haired beauty in a black sleeveless bodysuit adorned with red stars wearing silver greaves, magic bracers, and carrying a sword in her right hand. What struck the militia the most was how much she resembled a familiar Justice League member. It was Donna Troy, Wonder Woman's younger sister and founding member of the Titans, here to help her friends out.

"Nobody messes with my family! Titans, together!" She shouted, glaring at the militia, as the Titans charged alongside her. They were just hyped to have her come and help them out, and she was true to her word. Donna Troy was born on the island of Themyscira, the home of the Amazons. Her mother was Queen Hippolyta II, named after the famed Amazon Queen who gave Hercules her girdle as part of his 12 labors he undertook to atone for the murder of his family. Yet her father was Zeus, king of the Olympian gods. Donna grew up alongside her famed older sister, Diana, and was even present when Steve Trevor crash landed on Themyscira. When Diana was chosen to take Trevor back to the U.S., Donna stowed away on Diana's ship, and wasn't found until they finally landed, since she wanted to see the outside world. Though she was reprimanded for sneaking out, Donna proved her worth to her sister, and was allowed to fight alongside Diana as Wonder Girl.

Though her curiosity often got the better of her, and sometimes she sneaked out on her own to see the outside world. That was how she met and befriended Dick and Wally when they were still Robin and Kid Flash. Together one night, the three of them decided to form their own team independent from the Justice League, and upon arrival in Jump City, they were the first to encounter Starfire's crash landing on Earth, and after meeting Beast Boy, Cyborg and Raven, they defeated the Gordanians and founded the Teen Titans.

Given the fact that she was exactly similar to Diana in terms of powers and abilities, Donna was often chose to be second in command, leading the Titans whenever Dick was away. She and Starfire were also extremely close, like sisters, given that they and Raven were the only girls on the team. She was also like a surrogate big sister for Dick, as the two completely trusted each other. She'd been off in space for a while helping out the Green Lantern Corps, since Kyle Rayner, one G.L. from Earth was a Titan, but now she was back in action.

The militia were initially panicked, but still pushed on. All of a sudden, with another low rumble, the garage went completely dark, except for the emergency power lights and the red blaring alarm lights. It still allowed the Titans to see in the limited vision. They were just glad that Donna came in the nick of time. She drew her sword and began fighting the combat experts, shattering their blades as she punched them into unconsciousness. Nightwing used his escrima sticks in staff mode to face those he was up against, and even had a few dual takedowns with Flash and Starfire. Kori unleashed a few starbolts at the militia, while Raven took apart the APCs and used their tires as projectile weapons. Beast Boy turned into a polar bear and swiped the militia aside with his paws, roaring loudly to frighten them. Realizing they were in over their heads, the soldiers tried to flee in panic, but without room for escape, they were all knocked out by the Titans. Donna only wiped her forehead and sheathed her sword, seemingly proud of her handiwork.

"Wonder Girl!" Starfire exclaimed as she waved over to her best friend. Like how she called Dick "Robin", she knew Donna by her former hero codename. Donna's face instantly lit up as she saw her fellow Titan.

"Kori! Long time no see!" She exclaimed back and the two hugged each other tightly, like sisters. "Gods, I've missed you." She figured that Kori was back for good this time, and that she'd be back on the Titans.

"I have missed you too," replied the Tamaranean princess, "And I am grateful that you have come. We are attacked by the forces of the Knight of Arkham." Starfire knew that Donna would've seen what was going on outside, and could give them an idea of what they were up against.

"No kidding, I'm glad I got your message when I did," replied the Amazon demigod. Then she saw the other Titans, and Nightwing smiling back at her. They were all glad she showed up, since she was a powerhouse to be reckoned with.

"Thanks for acting as leader of the Titans in my absence, Donna," said Nightwing as he hugged her as well, "There's no one else I could've asked to cover for me."

"We're family, Dick," she replied as she returned the embrace, "And family always has each other's back. Now, let's break this siege." As much as she wanted to reunite with her fellow Titans, she knew it would have to wait until later. Nightwing then contacted Cash on the comm. link.

"Cash, we need you to open the shudder doors," he told the officer.

"I'm trying, Nightwing, but the power's out," Cash explained, "This is it. They're gonna tear the building apart!" Cash thought that their time had come, and that this was going to be their last stand in a war they would lose.

"Do not despair," said Starfire, "We cannot allow the Scarecrow to triumph. That is exactly what he would desire." Her eyes glowed pure green, showing how determined she was to stop Crane once and for all.

"Nightwing, I've got something for you and the Titans," said Oracle, "The building's schematics say that there's a generator on the outside of the building. You guys need to power it up!"

"Understood, Nightwing out," Dick replied and ended the transmission, then he turned to his teammates, "Raven, think you could get that fan out of the way for us?" He asked the empath.

"I'm on it!" She replied and used her powers to unhinge the fan, intact and create an opening for them to go out via the vents. She then formed a white ball of her soul-self around the Titans as they all teleported up to the upstairs offices to get access to the generator. As they drew nearer, the rumbling and booming became louder and more distinct. When they were finally at the main offices upstairs, they realized what was going on. Scarecrow sent his entire drone army to besiege the GCPD. The precinct was under constant bombardment by the tanks, while the choppers came in, looking to take down Batman, as they had been programmed to do. Then the jumbotron nearby showed a transmission, and Scarecrow appeared on screen yet again.

"G.C.P.D. - the home of Gotham's brave men and women, a beacon of hope in a city of chaos and despair, " Crane began, "Watch as I obliterate it, and the lives of all that cower within its walls!" The Titans looked at the scene, but then noticed Nightwing's angry expression. His eyes were focused on a figure standing above the TV on the railway above it, dressed in armor made of Kevlar and Promethium mail, with orange gauntlets, boots and a belt. On his left hip hung an arming sword, an M-16 rifle on his back, two Desert Eagle pistols on his back holsters, a bowie knife on his right hip, and he wore a special mask, that was black on his right half, and orange on the left, with a hole for his left eye.

" _ **SLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAADDDDDEEEEE!**_ " Nightwing roared at the top of his lungs, his eyes seething with rage.

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A/N: And so, it comes to this, as we all knew it must! The final battle, the last villain, the big finish! This seemed the appropriate challenge, as I thought that I would definitely do the characters justice by honoring their origins in the comics. In the comics, Deathstroke was originally hired by the H.I.V.E. to kill the Titans.

Don't worry, we still have 4 more Titans yet to arrive, so I'm saving the epic fight for until they arrive. Nightwing now knows that Deathstroke's in Gotham, and is genuinely pissed off. I wanted to show that side of Dick that we saw in the comics, which we never saw in Arkham Knight.

For Donna Troy's origin in the Arkham-verse, I was hugely inspired by the _New 52_ origin of Wonder Woman, so I decided it'd be cool if Donna was also a demigod, since I've always been interested in Greek Mythology. I also decided to have Starfire call her Wonder Girl as a reference to their Teen Titans days. I also altered Deathstroke's appearance to what is referred to in _Arkham Origins_ as his Judas Contract skin. However, I've also replaced the kind of sword he uses, and there's a very good reason for that which I will now explain.

The Ninjato as we know it, or Ninja sword, is actually a Hollywood invention; there is no mention of that sword being used in Japanese history. Real ninja would've used a katana, like their samurai counterparts. Also, the blades of the ninjato he is seen wielding would come in at about 58 cm. Now, that's a bit short. The average blade length for a katana is actually 75 cm, the same length as a European arming sword. Now, the problem here is that he is depicted wielding a set of two-handed swords for dual wielding. I've actually had experience with HEMA (Historical European Martial Arts), so I know that if you use a two-handed sword as a dedicated single-handed weapon, you run the risk of being disarmed, or having the sword knocked out of your hand. Another problem is that the extended hilt means that there is nothing to prevent the sword from sliding out of your hand as well. However, single-handed swords, particularly European and Central Asian swords, have large enough pommels to prevent that, even though it's meant to be a counterweight. Thus you are more confident in throwing more energy into your blows. In fact, in the comics before the New 52, Deathstroke is seen with what I decided to give him, an arming sword: the type of sword used by Medieval knights. I also decided to place the sword on his hip, rather than on his back, because drawing a sword in that position is physically impossible, as I've tried. However, drawing a sword that's worn on your hip allows for a smooth and clean draw.

But thus begins the Deathstroke arc. Let me know what you guys think and as always, review, favorite and follow! :)


	16. Chapter 16: Titans Together!

Nightwing: Arkham Knight

 **DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING! ALL CHARACTERS BELONG TO DC COMICS. _BATMAN: ARKHAM_ BELONGS TO DC ENTERTAINMENT, WB ENTERTAINMENT, AND ROCKSTEADY GAMES. BATMAN BELONGS TO DC COMICS, BOB KANE AND BILL FINGER. NIGHTWING AND STARFIRE BELONG TO DC COMICS, MARV WOLFMAN AND GEORGE PÉREZ.**

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Chapter 16: Titans Together!

The rage that Nightwing felt for the past 7 years, now welled up again inside of him. His arch-nemesis stood before him. Dick could never forgive Deathstroke for his most daring move against the Titans: The Judas Contract.

Seven years earlier, when Dick was still Robin, Deathstroke was approached by an organization called the Hierarchy of International Vengeance and Eliminations, or simply the H.I.V.E., and accepted a contract to kill the Teen Titans in order to personally try and force Batman out to face him. As part of his plan, the Titans took in a metahuman named Tara Markov, AKA Terra, a princess of Markovia who had the abilities to control the Earth. Labeled a witch in her home country, she was unable to control her powers, but Deathstroke helped her. He saved her life from a mob and trained her as his own personal tool. She was ordered to infiltrate and take down the Titans when the time was right, but they soon became like a family to her as they had her join on missions, and she even fell in love with Beast Boy. However, despite her feelings towards her friends, she reluctantly betrayed them all, except for Dick and Wally, who managed to escape. They then decided to rescue their teammates. However, Deathstroke offered to make up for Robin and Kid Flash by giving Terra in their place. Robin and Kid Flash saved their teammates, though, with the help from Slade's own son, Joseph Wilson, AKA Jericho, and a fierce battle against the H.I.V.E. began. Yet Terra, feeling betrayed by Deathstroke, nearly tried to kill him, and in the process, lost control of her powers and triggered a volcanic eruption. In the end, Terra was forced to sacrifice herself to save Jump City and her friends.

Because this plan nearly succeeded, however, Deathstroke knew the Titans' every weaknesses, and their secret identities. Another reason for Nightwing's rage was that after Trigon's defeat, Jericho was possessed by his essence, and the souls of Azarath who in turn became corrupted by him. They tried to possess Raven initially, but her soul-self protected her. Jericho was driven completely insane and ended up finally becoming Trigon's new host. This resulted in Deathstroke having to work with the Titans for a brief time, but in the end, though Jericho was able to resist, he begged his father to kill him, as that was the only way to stop Trigon's return. Seeing as he had no choice, Deathstroke ran Joseph through with his own sword. As a result, Deathstroke renounced all ties he had to the Titans, vowing to kill them all, regardless of the H.I.V.E. contract.

Seeing Dick's rage getting the best of him, the other Titans held him back with all their might. They knew that in a one-on-one fight, Slade would definitely kick his ass and they weren't going to lose another Titan tonight.

"Robin, no! Do not do this," Starfire pleaded, "You cannot allow him to manipulate you!" She wasn't going to let the man she loved die at the hands of their old foe, even though she was also angry at Slade for having used Terra as a puppet and killing Jericho.

"He's trying to aggravate you, don't let him win," Raven added on, as she could sense the anger in him welling up.

"Raven's right, Nightwing," said Flash, knowing how his best friend felt, "Right now, we've gotta focus on bringing the power back on and taking out these drones. We'll deal with Deathstroke once that's done." It was moments like these that showed how much Dick had become like Bruce, determined to defeat a threat to his family no matter the cost.

"But if we don't stop him now, he'll just keep on killing," Nightwing protested, "We can't let him get away with it, for our friends' sakes!" Dick knew that he couldn't allow Terra and Jericho's sacrifices to be in vain.

"I know," Donna told him, "Believe me, we haven't forgotten either. Though right now, we need to focus on saving Gotham, and to do that, we need to focus on the mission, and get power back online ASAP." Dick realized that his friends were right, that Deathstroke was only trying to get the best of him to make it easier to pick the Titans off one by one. It was the type of strategy only he would come up with, as he was an officer in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. They needed to face him together as a team.

"You're right...we'll focus on him later," he said, regaining his wits, "Okay, let's power up the generator and stop the attack!" Starfire only hugged her boyfriend as they and their fellow Titans made their way out of the G.C.P.D. to escape the bombardment of artillery shells. Beast Boy took the form of an eagle to fly out, while Flash ran along the side of the building. The generator was located atop the parking garage, but when they arrived, they saw it was already destroyed by artillery blast. "Damn! It's been blown apart," Nightwing muttered, and then pulled up the schematics on his gauntlet computer, "Okay, there's a backup generator in the garage, but it should've come online already."

"Then that's the one we turn on," said Flash, confident of victory.

"It appears as if the door to the garage has been jammed open," said Starfire, looking at the schematics, "Perhaps we may enter from there, correct?"

"Worth a shot!" Donna told her best friend. She and Nightwing nodded at one another and the Titans made their way down, only to find a dragon drone confronting them. Yet before it could fire a barrage of bullets at them, it was torn apart by a wave of bluish white sound. Instantly, they all knew who it was, as a familiar figure appeared before them. He was a young African-American man with short black hair on half his head, tall and incredibly muscular. Yet most of his body was a metallic exoskeleton, which was primarily gray, silver and even had bits of blue glass on the left side of his skull, his forearms, shoulders and thighs. Half of his face, neck, chest and underarms were bare. A red glowing circle was seen in the center of his forehead, and his right arm transformed from a cannon back into his right hand.

"Booyah!" He declared as he approached his friends. It was Cyborg, the last of the founding Titans and by far one of the strongest. Everyone was excited and glad he showed up at last. Now the old team was finally back in action.

Born as Victor Stone, he was the polar opposite of his father, Dr. Silas Stone, a renowned scientist at S.T.A.R. Labs. Vic had always been smart, yes, but he found his identity and true calling as an athlete. He ended up being the star quarterback on his high school's football team, and even had the star cheerleader as his girlfriend. However, it wasn't meant to last. During one of Darkseid's invasions of Earth, his mother Ellinore was killed, and Vic suffered horrific and ghastly injuries on 90% of his body. In a last ditch effort, Silas used both a mother box and new experimental prosthetic technology to save his son's life. When he awoke, Victor was horrified of what he'd become, and he ran off trying to find some place to hide. He ended up in Jump City on the very night that Starfire crash landed. It was there that he met up with Robin, Wonder Girl, Kid Flash, Beast Boy and Raven, helped them save Starfire and defeated the Gordanians. Not long after that, he reconciled with his father and he and the other teenage heroes founded the Teen Titans.

Cyborg felt that the Titans made him feel less like being a freak, and they brought him in and accepted him for who he was, not because he was a monster. This made him feel a sense of belonging, and he became one of the Titans' core members and their technological expert. Even when Nightwing, Starfire and Flash left, he stayed behind with the others. Occasionally he helped the Justice League on missions, but he never once abandoned the Titans for the League. Now he worked alongside Beast Boy at S.T.A.R. Labs, and even found love in the form of Variant, a young woman and ex-CIA agent who underwent the same process he went through. Tonight, he was needed here with his team again.

"Cyborg!" Starfire exclaimed as the Titans made their way towards him. She was definitely excited to see him, as he was like a surrogate older brother towards her since they founded the Titans. He was equally shocked by the fact that Starfire was back. He hadn't seen her since they left Tamaran.

"Star?!" He asked her as he realized what was going on, "Starfire! I don't believe it. You're back for good this time?!" He didn't know what she was doing here in Gotham, but he was glad to see her again.

"Yes, and I am glad to see you again," she told him, smiling eagerly as he smiled back at her. The other Titans were also glad to see him, as they knew this was only going to get easier from now on.

"Glad you could make it," said Nightwing as he joined Starfire's side. Despite the fact that Vic sometimes detested taking orders from him, he was still not one for insubordination, and at times was able to prove his own worth as a leader.

"Wouldn't have missed it!" He replied as he saw his teammates, "Now who said y'all could start the party without me?" Another quality the Titans liked about Cyborg was his sense of humor, upbeat and outgoing personality. In the Teen Titans' first two years as superheroes, he and Beast Boy were often best pals, and that friendship was one that lasted into their adulthood.

"Never said it was till you showed up, Cy," said Beast Boy, grinning confidently.

"Alright, then let's do it!" Cyborg exclaimed. He, Raven, Donna and Starfire then lifted the parking garage's shutter door up, so they could all fit inside. It'd been jammed when an APC was crushed underneath it as it closed. The Titans rushed in to find a third APC parked, and the militia trying to detonate with C4 explosives. There were 14 soldiers, twice the number of the Titans' ranks, and feeling confident when they saw the 7 heroes, charged towards them. Suddenly three of them were knocked out by an arrow with a boxing glove in place of an arrowhead. Behind them, on the APC, stood a young man around Dick's age with shaggy red hair and a Navajo tattoo band on his right bicep wearing a red and gold colored version of Green Arrow's outfit, and carrying a sword on his left hip, while a red Mongol bow was gripped in his left hand. Roy Harper, AKA Arsenal was here to help his fellow Titans.

"Well don't just stand there, let's take 'em down!" He exclaimed, glad to be fighting alongside his fellow heroes. Roy was the first Speedy, Green Arrow's protege, but was kicked off after he suffered from a heroin addiction. Seeing this as his chance for independence, he joined the Teen Titans as Arsenal and helped establish the team's East Coast branch in New York. The militia weren't mentally prepared for handling metahumans like the Titans, and despite their attempts at putting up a good fight, they tried to flee in panic. Some got lucky and escaped, but most were knocked about by the combined effort of the team. Even the riflemen were shocked as they saw Donna Troy blocking the bullets they fired with her bracers, just like her older sister.

"Aw yeah! Titans: 1, Arkham Militia: 0!" Donna exclaimed, sheathing her sword. It truly felt like old times when they were teenage superheroes trying to establish themselves out of the shadows of their mentors.

"Nice work, team," said Nightwing, as he then saw how bad the damage to the generator was. Only one of the charging cells was damaged, but the other three were still operational. Dick knew that this wasn't his thing, as his escrima sticks weren't built for powering up generators like Bruce's REC he got from Arkham City. "Cyborg, think you can power up the generator so we can open the doors?" He asked his cybernetically enhanced teammate, since this was more up his alley.

"No problem, this'll only take a quick second," he replied, and he instantly went to work, using an EMP version of his sonic cannon to send three electrical charges, thus powering up the generator. As soon as that happened, the lights came on and the alarms were silenced. "Alright, generator's kicked in! Now let's get out there and..." before he could finish, he found a notification on his sensors that made his eyes widen. "What the...No freakin' way!"

"Cyborg, have you discovered something?" Starfire asked, curiously.

"Not just somethin', Star. I found a chink in the militia's security," he told her with a chuckle, "Dumbasses! I think I can hack their drones!" All the Titans were definitely surprised by this revelation. They now had the upper hand in this fight.

"Dude, are you serious?!" Beast Boy asked, excited about what his best pal now knew and could use to their advantage.

"Good, then we'll just use that to our advantage," said Nightwing as they all got ready.

"Okay, so we're up against 61 drone tanks and choppers," said Flash, noting how Cyborg destroyed the dragon at the parking garage door earlier.

"Anybody got a plan?" Raven asked.

"I think we all know what to do, right guys?" Donna asked her teammates as she drew her sword.

"Yes! We kick the ass!" Starfire declared, starbolts at the ready in her hands.

"Just like ol' times!" Cyborg added on.

"No holding back!" Beast Boy exclaimed as he was ready. Arsenal then looked to Nightwing with a quizzical expression.

"Well, you gonna say it, Nightwing?" He asked smugly as they approached the door. As soon as they opened, the Titans all heard it.

"TITANS, TOGETHER!" Nightwing shouted, and they all ran out ready for battle. The drones continued their assault while some were noticing the Titans' movements and were ordered to roll out and meet the threat. Beast Boy turned into a T-Rex, all covered in feathers to withstand the cold and snow. Starfire unleashed barrage after barrage of starbolts at the airborne drones, while Raven ripped apart a diamondback with her soul-self. Nightwing pulled in the Nightbird and he and Arsenal got inside, ready for battle. Donna drew her sword and a small shield, and slashed a dragon in half, shearing it in two, as if it'd been made of wood. Flash taunted a Mamba and ran at just the right time for another come alongside him. As soon as both fired, he ran out of the way, and the two drones destroyed each other.

"Alright y'all, let's start the hack!" Cyborg muttered, as he soon got to work with his system's computer, bypassing the firewalls and security systems at speeds not even Oracle could match. This was one area where he had her beaten given how he could access advanced technology. His AI and the Nightbird's computer showed the tank he hacked as a green "T" to signify it was under his control.

The militia sergeant was shocked by the hack, and as he tried to remove it, Cyborg switched the source of the hack to another tank. This even made Scarecrow think that Oracle was behind it all, while she was in fact monitoring the rest of Gotham, hacking what remained of the watchtowers and checkpoints. Cyborg's hack even showed yellow and purple targets, one indicating an overcharged energy cell that when shot would trigger an EMP blast. The other would set off a massive explosion that would detonate multiple targets. At that moment, a few python sentries were hit by shards of crystals and destroyed. The Titans all saw a beautiful young woman with long pink hair in a blue leotard with a white and blue sleeveless outfit with a skirt and cape resembling crystals and a diadem on her forehead coming in on a ramp of the material, which she was shooting from her hands.

"Kole!" Starfire exclaimed, recognizing one of their most recent members.

Kole was a new member of the Titans, joining the team shortly after they defeated Trigon. She ran away from home two years prior, as her father was a scientist who was obsessed with ensuring humanity's evolution to survive a nuclear apocalypse, and created monstrous insect like creatures and monsters made of crystal. He even experimented on his own daughter. He even captured the Titans and tried to subject them to the same horror, but Kole managed to escape and saved her friends, unable to do anything to save her parents, who stayed behind in the ensuing explosion. Before he died, Jericho even became her boyfriend and taught her how to play guitar, a feat she carried on as a young woman.

"Starfire?!" Kole asked, shocked as she saw her Tamaranean friend, thinking it was a dream, but then she realized it wasn't, after getting her message. "You came back!" She cried out happily, as she saw her flying towards her level. Since the Titans were joined by more girls, it made Kori feel more at ease.

"Indeed! And I cannot wait to discuss what has happened!" Kori replied. Yet just then, Nightwing saw a serpent drone heading right for his girlfriend, and aiming straight st her.

"Aw crap! STARFIRE, LOOK OUT!" He yelled, but the missile detonated with a mighty blast, obscuring his vision. He soon began to fear the worst "NO! KORI!"

"Robin, do not worry, I am still alive!" She told him on her comm. link, as she and Kole moved aside before the missile exploded. "However I am unsure what had caused the explosion." Dick sighed in relief as he heard that his girlfriend was still alive.

"Oh, That?" Kole asked with a giggle, "We kinda asked someone to fill in for you. That's her now." Instantly a flash of blue and red sped across Gotham's night sky, and the serpent drone was destroyed in a single punch, letting off a shockwave that was heard across Bleake Island. Then it made a huge dent in a cobra tank, destroying that too. Nightwing and Arsenal could see in the crater, a blonde young beauty in a blue sleeveless crop top and miniskirt, with red long gloves and boots on her arms and legs, complete with a gold trim. She wore a yellow belt on her hips and a red cape over her shoulders. As she turned to face her friends, she showed that not only was she almost as busty as Starfire, but on her chest was an upside-down pentagonal shield with what looked like a giant red "S" on a yellow background.

"Hope I'm not too late, am I?" She asked with a smirk. Nightwing instantly recognized her from two years ago when he and the Run-Offs were summoned with the other hero teams to Themyscira to meet her.

"Supergirl!?" He asked in shock as he kept firing. He was nevertheless thrilled that Donna made the choice to have her fill in while he and Kori were gone. After all, he knew when Kyle Rayner was a Titan and even gave him full team membership.

Born as Kara Zor-El, on Krypton, she was supposed to accompany her cousin, Kal-El to Earth as a baby, but her rocket got blown off course and she landed years later when her cousin was well into the role of Superman. Unable to control her powers, Kara was sent to train with the Titans, given that they were the closest to her age range. As she learned to control her powers, she made long lasting bonds with the team, and even Nightwing trained with her on one occasion. Now she's been asked to fill in for Kori at Donna's request.

"Glad to see you made it Supergirl!" Donna told her via comm. link, before switching over to Starfire's, "Hope you don't mind my decision, Kori. We needed someone who was similar to you in terms of power and character while you were on Tamaran. She's not your replacement, though." Donna knew that Starfire didn't take any potential replacements well, as she was a valued part of the Titans. Kori just shook her head with a smile.

"I am just glad that I have not been replaced," she replied. That was when Kara flew up to her and took out a serpent drone with her heat vision. The two alien heroines then met for the first time.

"So you're Starfire, huh?" Supergirl asked with a smile, "Nice to finally put a face to name. I can see why the other Titans spoke highly about you." It was evident that Kara greatly admired Starfire, given the fact that Tamaraneans were twice as strong as her people.

"Oh, I do not believe we have met," Starfire replied with a blush as she smiled. She felt glad that her fill-in was aware of who she was. "Forgive my rudeness, but may I ask of you your name?" She then asked as she took down a dragon with a starbolt blast from her eyes. The two knew they could fight and chat at the same time and flew down to take out a few cobras from behind.

"No problem, I'm Superman's cousin," she said, "So...I suppose, Supergirl would do." Kara knew that with Deathstroke watching the scene, they couldn't use real names. Starfire was immediately excited at the thought of having another alien on the Titans, as it meant she wouldn't be the only intergalactic member of the team, and what's more, a Kryptonian at that.

"Then let us kick the ass together, Supergirl!" Kori exclaimed as the two took down the cobra divisions before they could detect them. The Titans fought the good fight on the ground, and with Cyborg's hacks, it only made it easier. They just kept fighting, until eventually, there was nothing left of the drones. Scarecrow sent everything he had at the G.C.P.D., and now the Titans had basically destroyed all the drones he had left, since a big chunk of them were sunken at the bottom of Gotham Bay.

"Is that it? Did we do it?" Beast Boy asked as he transformed back into his normal form. Nightwing and Arsenal got out of the Nightbird as they looked upon the remains of the drones.

"That's it! All drones destroyed!" Cyborg triumphantly declared as he flew down to join the other Titans. It was an upgrade on his flight mode he had when he first got his enhancements. Now it was perfected by S.T.A.R. Labs. Roy and Donna hugged each other tightly before sharing a loving kiss with one another, while Nightwing and Starfire did the same.

"This is Oracle, Titans come in!" Barbara called, as she got into the Titans' comm. links, "Deathstroke's leading an assault on the roof, they're trying to bypass the security locks."

"Leave him to us, Barb!" Nightwing told his ex, "We've fought him before, and we'll do it again!" Nightwing then ended the transmission and looked to his teammates with a confident grin. "Before this final fight, I wanna officially welcome the newest official member of the Titans..." he began as he then turned to Kara, "...by merit and unanimous consent: Supergirl!" Dick then handed Kara a Titans comm. link earpiece and nodded, letting her know she was officially on the team. The other Titans applauded as they welcomed Kara on board the team.

"Welcome new Titan!" Starfire exclaimed as she hugged her new teammate tightly. Kara only hugged Kori back, since she was strong enough to endure an embrace like that.

"Thank you guys so much," she said, "I'm honored to be officially on board." Then she looked to Nightwing and Starfire with a huge smile, "Nightwing, promise that we'll celebrate at the tower tomorrow?" Dick couldn't help but nod at her request.

"You got it!" He told her, then he looked at his teammates, his family. They were back in action, ready to take down Slade once and for all. "But first, we fight and win, together!"

"YEAH!" They all shouted in unison and made a rush towards the rooftop, ready for the final showdown. The Battle for Gotham City was about to reach its climax!

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A/N: At last, we've got all the Titans coming together for the final showdown! Roy and Donna's kiss shouldn't be all that surprising, since the two had a crush on each other in the 60's, and at one point Roy even expressed his love for Donna in an issue of _The New Teen Titans_. As for the Titans East's location, that was another _New Teen Titans_ reference, since the series took place in New York. In fact, Titans Tower was on an island somewhere in the East River.

Beast Boy's transformation into a feathered T-Rex isn't actually too far-fetched. There has been some speculation as to whether T-Rex had feathers, as new paleontology records have shown that a lot of theropod dinosaurs in the Cretaceous period did have feathers rather than scales.

For those of you familiar with the _Teen Titans_ cartoon, you'll recall Terra's Arc in season 2. However, in the comics, Terra was a monster, plain and simple. She was a sociopath and a sadist and she was only 14. I decided to tone her down and have elements of her cartoon incarnation be placed into her backstory. Though the event, The Judas Contract, is also the name of one of my favorite _New Teen Titans_ arc. I highly recommend you read that because it is awesome!

Kole was a minor member of the Titans, her stint was brief, as she unfortunately was killed off during _Crisis on Infinite Earths_ , but I decided to keep her alive since I figured she has potential to be a key player of the Titans in her own right.

For Supergirl's appearance, I went mostly based off her appearance in the _Ame-Comi_ series, and her bust size was a reference to her Earth-2 counterpart, Power Girl. At one point, Supergirl was a Teen Titan in the comics, during Geoff Johns' run on the series, but I decided that since she first appeared around the same time as the original Teen Titans, around the late 50's and early 60's, I figured she'd make a nice addition to the founding members of the team.

But that concludes this chapter, and next chapter we will finally show the fight we've all been waiting for and what Scarecrow has in store for Batman! Let me know what you think in the review, leave a favorite and follow for more, and let me know if you guys want me to do more stories like this as well! :)


	17. Chapter 17: Gotham's Saviors

Nightwing: Arkham Knight

 **DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING! ALL CHARACTERS BELONG TO DC COMICS. _BATMAN: ARKHAM_ BELONGS TO DC ENTERTAINMENT, WB ENTERTAINMENT, AND ROCKSTEADY GAMES. BATMAN BELONGS TO DC COMICS, BOB KANE AND BILL FINGER. NIGHTWING AND STARFIRE BELONG TO DC COMICS, MARV WOLFMAN AND GEORGE PÉREZ.**

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Chapter 17: Gotham's Saviors...

On the GCPD Rooftop helipad, Deathstroke took in his surroundings, trying his best to ignore the snowfall, but observing the 26 men he had under his command. It reminded him of the old days when he was a soldier in Vietnam, and he had to look out for his regiment as Colonel. The army wasn't his idea at all, but he just was in it to face Batman again. He recalled how it all began, back two years ago during the night of the Arkham Riots. Before he died, Joker hired him to keep an eye on his "prisoner" while he faced Batman. However, the kid revealed that Joker wouldn't pay Slade high enough, and he offered to double it if he helped him escape. That boy was now the Arkham Knight, the man who was responsible for all of this. Yet with the Knight gone, he was now in charge. As long as he kept the 3 million he was paid, he was good as sold.

"I do love this new job," he muttered, watching the snowy landscape of Gotham, "Beats that last gig that ass Strange hired me for." Slade was hired by Strange when Arkham City was set up, as a way to lure in Batman. However, despite his defeat, he was completely unprepared for what was going on tonight. "Men, fan out! I want every inch of this rooftop covered. Secure the building; no one gets out alive! Those are our orders!"

"SIR!" The soldiers said and fanned out. Yet a puff of smoke blinded all of them as they could only see perpetual darkness. Slade turned as he saw the Titans standing there facing him. He couldn't help but grin underneath his mask.

"It's been such a long time, hasn't it Titans?" He asked them, "About 4 years to be precise? Far too long for my style, anyway." Then he looked at Starfire, "Ah! I was beginning to think I'd never see your smiling face again, princess." Deathstroke knew how to push all of Nightwing's buttons, having even fought him in Blüdhaven.

"I don't know what you're doing in Gotham," said Nightwing, trying his best to contain and control his anger, "But we're ready for you this time, Slade!" He took out his escrima sticks and combined them into staff mode, while Deathstroke took out his energy lance, both ends of it glowing with bursts of heat.

"I'm flattered, Nightwing. I really am," Deathstroke replied, "But I didn't come all this way to Gotham only for you." He then turned to his troops who'd just recovered from the smoke bomb. "We're taking the precinct, one way or another." Slade was definitely ready for this moment, which he felt had been coming for ages.

"Oh yeah?" Beast Boy asked, "You and what army?" That was when the militia troops came to their commander's side, all 26 of them. Three among them were brutes, and that meant they were the toughest aside from Slade to handle. Beast Boy just looked in shock as his jaw dropped at the sight of those well armed soldiers Deathstroke had under his command.

"You couldn't resist askin', couldn't you?" Cyborg asked, a bit annoyed that Beast Boy did something brazen like that. Him asking dumb questions like that always got the Titans into trouble in a fight whenever they were outnumbered.

"Take them down hard and fast, men! No mercy!" Slade commanded his troops.

"SIR YES SIR!" They yelled in response and charged forward with their commander at the head. They were trained by him using his methods and tactics, so they felt as if they had the edge in taking down some former sidekicks

"Let's go, you asshole!" Nightwing shouted as he and the other Titans prepared themselves for battle. They all rushed forward, ready for the challenge. Nightwing and Deathstroke came to blows instantly, their staves clanging as they clashed. Slade could see the anger, the fire in Dick's eyes. "Why Slade!? Why would you come back!? Who paid you!? What's your aim!?" He asked, demanding his old foe give him an answer.

"You really think it's that easy, kid, but it never is," Slade told him, calmly, "Now, as I recall, Batman once told me that I didn't worry him at all. Though our mutual friend, the Arkham Knight said otherwise. He said I was the toughest bastard your mentor ever fought head on. He sought out my services. I trained the Knight's militia for this very moment. Though, I must say I wasn't expecting you and your friends to make things interesting." Nightwing and Deathstroke continued to exchange blows. Dick knew what Slade was after: killing Batman. It'd been his objective since the night of the Blackgate Riots, when he was only 6.

"So you've come to settle the 17 year old score?!" Nightwing asked, as he avoided an energy blast, "News flash: The Knight's gone, Slade! You're a mercenary without a patron. Whatever you've got in mind, it's over!" Dick then threw a few punches and kicks, all of which Deathstroke countered and parried easily.

"On the contrary, Nightwing, it's only just begun," Slade told him, "See, I took payment in advance for this assignment. That makes me professionally obliged to fulfill my end of the bargain." The two then continued to exchange blows as the other Titans took down the militia. Starfire and Donna were able to hold their own against the combat experts, since swordsmanship was also a part of their training. Cyborg and Supergirl though were facing the three brutes. These men were definitely challenges, as Dick and Kori found out tonight.

"Three against two, huh Supergirl?" Cyborg asked, sizing up their opponents, "Pretty bad odds." However his grin said otherwise.

"Yeah, for these bozos at least," Kara replied, cracking her knuckles. She knew though that she had to hold back. The two gave it all they got against the brutes, even going as far as disabling their weapons mounted to their bodysuits. Kole herself even took a shot at the militia, using her crystals to make a European style longsword out of pure diamonds. Since Jericho was taught swordsmanship from his father at a young age, and used one himself when he was alive, he taught her how to use it just before he died, so that she could stand against his father. Arsenal just kept coming at the militia with trick arrows, using smoke arrows to distract them, allowing Raven, Flash and Beast Boy to pick out their targets and take them down before they could react.

Yet still, Deathstroke and Nightwing continued their exchange of blows. They were both evenly matched, but Slade's enhanced senses and prowess gave him the edge. He fired off some shots from his energy lance, straight at Nightwing.

"I hate that thing!" Dick muttered as he tried dodging every blast. Yet the force of one explosion caught him off guard, forcing him to break his fall as he regained his footing. Yet Deathstroke appeared behind him and as the former Robin tried to land a kick, the ex-soldier caught his foot and threw him against a wall.

"Your Aikido still needs work, Grayson," said Slade as he gave room for Dick to recover, "This is gonna be easier than I realized. Admit it, Nightwing, you've gotten sloppy while I was away." Nightwing just came at him with an angry roar, throwing a barrage of birdarangs at Deathstroke. Slade deflected most of them with the energy lance, but wasn't able to stop one from slashing his arm. "This certainly brings back old memories, doesn't it?" He asked as he and Nightwing squared off, waiting to see who would make the next attack.

"The only thing I recall is how much I hated your guts," Nightwing coldly replied, "We've beaten you before, and we'll do it again." Nightwing remembered how that they always were able to somehow beat Deathstroke when the opportunity presented itself, even if he was a slippery bastard.

"How odd, because I seem to remember kicking your ass most of the time," Deathstroke replied, still maintaining his calm and cool mantra. "You couldn't even lock me up just as well." Dick knew that Slade had a point. After the Judas Contract, he was arrested and put on trial for his crimes, but the trial was deliberately interrupted by Beast Boy who wanted to kill Slade and thus avenge Terra's death. Nightwing put his escrima sticks away and unleashed another barrage of birdarangs at him. Slade's armor blunted the projectiles, and he even used his staff to deflect a few. Yet he failed to realize that the militia had all been defeated, and that Beast Boy was now charging straight at him as a bison. Since he also hunted big game in Africa, Deathstroke was able to evade the oncoming charge. Yet as he took out his rifle, Arsenal unleashed a few smoke arrows to cut off his line of sight.

"Yo, Slade! Ollie sends his regards!" Roy stated as he fired them off. He knew that from time to time Deathstroke and Green Arrow faced off against one another. Popular urban myths even went about that Green Arrow gouged out Slade's right eye. In reality, that myth was false, as he lost his right eye after his ex-wife Adeline shot him after Jericho was nearly killed. Deathstroke took out his M-16 rifle, and began firing at the first thing he saw move, only to find the bullets bounced off with no impact as Supergirl punched him so hard he was sent flying, hitting the rooftop shed on the opposite side of the elevators.

"Didn't expect that coming, huh?" She asked, boastfully. Supergirl never faced off against Deathstroke before, however, so she had no clue about his knowledge. Slade got up, his mask cracked in half revealing the old soldier's face. His hair and goatee were white, showing how old he'd gotten, but he was still as spry as in his youth.

"Another Kryptonian, I take it?" He asked, grinning as he got up, "Good thing I know how to deal with your kind!" From a pocket on his utility belt, Slade took out a small yet clearly potent chunk of green rock that glowed iridescently. Instantly Kara dropped to one knee, feeling herself getting weaker.

"Kryptonite! You're just as bad as...my teammates said you were!" She growled as she struggled to her feet. However Deathstroke had the upper hand this round. Having accepted contracts from men like Lex Luthor, he had a small supply in case he needed to face Superman.

"Nothing personal, kid. I'm just doing my job," he told her, "Give up now, and I promise you, it'll all be over." Slade may have been a mercenary who sold his services to the highest paying client, but he also did have a sense of honor from his time as a soldier and as a former member of the Suicide Squad.

"Kryptonians...never surrender!" Supergirl yelled, and with one burst, she headbutted him hard enough to make him spit up blood. Donna and Kole then came straight at him with their swords, forcing Slade to draw his own, along with his bowie knife, using it as a parrying dagger. He gave up trying to dual wield two swords after a stint with the Suicide Squad in which he was outmatched by a swordsman from the League of Assassins, and his swords were knocked out of his hands during the fight. Since then, he opted for his new arming sword, since it was able to both cut and thrust.

"Never should've taken that damned H.I.V.E. contract!" He growled as he glared at the Titans. He was able to parry and counterattack both Donna and Kole's moves before Nightwing came at him once again with his escrima sticks. Starfire then knocked the Kryptonite aside with a starbolt.

"Kryptonite cannot kill me!" She explained, her eyes glowing green with righteous fury. She was just as ready to take him down for his terrible crimes.

"Screw it!" He shouted as he sheathed his dagger and drew his handgun, aimed directly at her. However, before he could fire off a clean shot, the gun was knocked clean out of his hand. Atop one of the buildings stood a figure in a military grade suit of body armor that mirrored the Batsuit. The red gauntlets on his arms had 3 spikes, the chest was emblazoned with a red bat insignia and he wore a red helmet with eyeholes. Taking it off, he had shaggy black hair with a white streak, and he wore a red version of Nightwing's mask.

"Nightwing! Starfire!" He cried out. Instantly the Titans looked at who it was, shocked by that familiar face and voice. It was Jason Todd, the second Robin.

"Jason!? You're alive!?" Dick asked, shocked but nevertheless excited. He thought Jason died in an explosion in Ethiopia, but here he was, alive and well.

"That's not important right now," said the former second Robin, before grinning confidently at his older surrogate brother, "Just be like real Teen Titans and kick that guy's ass!" Nightwing only nodded as he looked to his teammates with a confident grin.

"TITANS, TOGETHER!" He shouted and they all charged Deathstroke as a team. This was how they were truly able to defeat him, head on and as a united team. Nearby, the elevator door opened as Jack Ryder set up his camera for the scoop, which Oracle broadcasted live on Gotham's TV news stations.

"This is Jack Ryder reporting live from the rooftop of the GCPD precinct on Bleake Island," he began, "Where it appears right behind me, the Militia's new commander, Deathstroke the Terminator is embattled with the team of young superheroes formerly known as the Teen Titans!" Ryder figured that this and the rescue from Brother Blood were enough to get his career kickstarted again.

Beast Boy turned into a lion and pounced on Slade, slashing the Promethium mail over his abs with his claws before turning into a gorilla yet again.

"This one's for Terra..." he muttered and roared as he punched the mercenary in the jaw. Cyborg and Supergirl flew at him with a dual blast of heat vision and a blast from Vic's sonic cannon, which sent Slade skidding off balance before he could regain his footing. Then Flash ran with barrage after barrage of fisticuffs. Slade tried kicking him, but Wally just grabbed his leg, and grinned.

"Aww, what's the matter? Speedster got your leg?" He asked mockingly as he threw him towards Donna, who hit him with the pommel of her sword in the gut. The two then clashed their swords before Kole joined in with her diamond longsword and landed a hit on her late boyfriend's father.

"That was for Joey..." she muttered as she formed a crystal mace and whacked him hard to send him skidding across the floor. Raven then used her magic to grab Slade by his feet and pinned him. Finally as Deathstroke got up, Arsenal fired a few arrows that he cut down with his sword. Yet it was enough for Nightwing and Starfire to come in with a dual flying kick right in his solar plexus. Deathstroke coughed up a gob of blood and was sent flying across the floor, landing on the helipad before he finally passed out.

"Yes!" Jason muttered as he used his grapnel gun to get across Gotham. He still had one piece of business before he could tell Dick all that happened and why he was alive.

Nightwing cuffed Deathstroke's hands behind his back as he got a call from Cash downstairs.

"You and your friends got a lotta people who wanna thank you here tonight," he told the former Robin, "And I'm one of them. It looked pretty bad out there for a moment."

"Glad we could help out, Cash," Nightwing replied, "You may wanna take these guys away to the holding cells. And have Slade in the maximum security cell with the group."

"Sure thing, I'll get right on it!" Cash replied and ended the conversation. Dick then smiled as he and Starfire embraced each other tightly.

"The battle has reached its completeness," she proclaimed, raising her fist to the moonlit snowy sky, "We are victorious!" The Titans all cheered and happily remarked on how they all helped save Gotham. Nightwing only smiled as he and Starfire joined the rest of their team.

"Thank you all so much," he said wholeheartedly, "I couldn't have done it without you guys. I mean it." Dick then turned around to look for Jason, but instead his face drained of color as he saw the jumbotron. His eyes widened in shock as he saw Commissioner Gordon being forced to take off Batman's cowl. Now everyone knew Bruce's secret. He could only watch as Scarecrow then injected his surrogate father full of fear toxin. Dick clenched his fists in anger, trying to hold back tears, but Raven held her best friend back.

"Nightwing there's nothing we can do now!" The demon half-breed told her friend, "I know you wanna help, but this is Batman's decision. Like it or not, we've gotta respect that." Flash, who looked on, knew that since he and Bruce were both on the Justice League, he was the type of man who'd make a sacrifice like that. Even Dick knew that all too well. Yet he remembered Bruce's experience to the fear toxin during the Arkham Riots two years ago. Dick then noticed Bruce began to laugh hysterically, in a voice that wasn't his own. Instantly he knew what was happening, remembering how four days earlier, Batman showed him the infected underneath Panessa Studios, those who were falling victim to the effects of Joker's TITAN infected blood. Then he recalled what happened the previous year.

' _That's right! How could I forget? Bruce was infected with Joker's blood too!_ ' He thought, horrified. He could see Scarecrow's confusion and anger force him to inject Bruce full of another dose of fear toxin as he laughed in Joker's voice, before finally falling back into a delusional state. Yet then he noticed Bruce's eyes turn from the same green eyes that the Joker had back to blue. Then he saw Scarecrow step in front of the camera.

"Do you see now, Gotham?" He asked as he turned towards Bruce, "There is no savior...no more hope...No. More. BATMAN!" Then he injected Bruce again with a third dose, grinning insidiously at his defeated enemy, "I win..." Yet then Dick saw Bruce smile in defiance.

"I'm not afraid, Crane," he said back in his own voice. Dick and the Titans were amazed, but not surprised, as Crane was. Dick knew about his surrogate father's iron will, as he was constantly able to best the Mad Hatter's attempts to brainwash him. Starfire made her way to her boyfriend's side as they watched gunshots knock Crane's pistol from his hand and free Bruce.

"Jason..." Dick muttered, smiling at the fact his surrogate brother was back to help. They just watched as Scarecrow tried to inject Bruce a fourth time, only for the Dark Knight to grab Crane's right hand and turn the syringes against their master, forcing Scarecrow to inject himself with his own toxin. Nightwing smiled softly, knowing that it was all finally over, Gotham was safe, but at a price. He then turned to his teammates, Starfire at his side and nodded, "Okay, let's help Cash get these men behind bars." The Titans rounded up the militia as Cash and a few other officers came in the rooftop elevator, ready to restrain them. Nightwing was helping Deathstroke onto his feet, when Slade came to.

"Grayson...I've got a proposition," he whispered, "I found out not too long ago, I've got another kid, a girl this time. I don't want her going down the path I did." Nightwing remembered that despite their enmity, Slade was also the father of a Titan. Yet he wasn't taking any chances again.

"If my teammates and I agree, will you stop trying to kill us?" Nightwing asked, loud enough so his teammates could hear him. Slade only nodded silently as he was handed over to Cash. Dick knew that Slade was also a man of his word when the need arose, so there was no need to worry about him again. This was the least that he could do to honor Jericho's memory. "Your daughter, what's her name?" He asked the mercenary.

"Rose, Rose Wilson," Slade told the Titans, "Take care of her, like you did for her brother." The other Titans, upon knowing this, nodded to his request. Even Supergirl did, since Kole told her all about Jericho. As he looked back one last time, Slade Wilson smiled before being led away into the elevator. He could rest easy now that his daughter wasn't going to end up like him. At that very moment, the Batwing came in for landing, and Batman stepped out, wearing his cowl and guiding Scarecrow, now disarmed and a mumbling, frightened mess from having received a taste of his own fear toxin.

"Best gift you brought us all night!" Cash exclaimed as he was given the terrified madman. The other two officers gossiped about how they couldn't believe he showed up. "So Bruce Wayne, huh?" Cash then asked, "If it's all the same to you, I'll stick to Batman." Scarecrow muttered incoherently how he thought monsters were coming for him as he was brought inside. "You sound scared, Crane. Better get used to it!" Cash told him as the doors closed and the elevator went down. Batman then received an open transmission from Alfred.

"Master Bruce, it's over. The world knows your secret. What now?" The old Englishman asked his surrogate son, unsure of what would happen next.

"Prepare for the Knightfall Protocol," said Batman, knowing that this was necessary to protect Gotham. Nightwing was shocked as he heard what his surrogate father was planning. It explained why they talked about it earlier, and he recalled Bruce explaining to him in the Batcave about the Knightfall Protocol shortly after Arkham City was shut down.

"Are you sure?" Alfred asked, equally shocked by Bruce's decision, "It requires voice confirmation."

"Martha..." Bruce spoke solemnly, knowing now that this was necessary.

"Very good sir, you can ensure your instructions will be followed," said Alfred, "The Batwing will make its way to the rendezvous point." Then the transmission ended as Bruce walked towards the Bat Signal, passing the Titans. Yet Nightwing knew that while he couldn't change Batman's mind, there was still one last thing he could still do.

"Batman, wait!" He shouted, getting his surrogate father's attention, then he turned to the other Titans as well, "I want all of you to be here for this." Nightwing smiled as he approached Starfire until he stood just paces from his girlfriend. "Starfire, there's something I've been meaning to ask you," he said as he locked his blue eyes with her own.

"Yes?" She asked, both concerned and curious as to what her boyfriend had in mind. Nightwing reached for the second left pocket on his utility belt, held her left hand in his right hand, then he pulled out a little black box as he got down on one knee, still smiling at her. As he opened the box, the other Titans were shocked as they saw what was inside: it was the diamond ring he kept all this time. He kept it in the Nightbird all this time, and kept it in his utility belt before the two faced Professor Pyg, so as not to spoil the surprise.

"Princess Starfire of Tamaran...will you marry me?" He asked, looking up at her. Starfire widened her eyes and held her right hand over her mouth in suspense. The man she loved was asking for her hand, to be his wife. She could feel the tears of joy welling up on her eyes. For there was no other man she wanted to cherish with in this world than Dick Grayson, her one and only Robin.

"Robin...Yes! Yes I will marry you!" Starfire cried happily, allowing her fiancee to place the ring on her left finger; it fit her perfectly. Then she tackled her future husband with a hug, crying happily into his shoulder as he held her tightly. The other Titans were thrilled and excited that this just happened, while also expecting it somewhat, since they knew Dick and Kori loved each other since their teenage years. Batman though only smiled at his surrogate son and daughter-in-law.

"If it's my blessing you're asking for, then you've got it," said the Dark Knight as he left, happy at the thought of Dick marrying the woman he loved. "Robin and Gordon are fine," he told them before leaving, "A transport's on its way to the Asylum to pick them up." Nightwing was relieved at this knowledge. Tim was safe, as was the commissioner. They didn't have to worry. The other Titans only applauded as the happy couple shared a loving kiss. Donna only hugged Roy as she cried tears of joy that her best friends were getting married.

"Thank you, Bruce, for everything," said Nightwing as he smiled one last time at his surrogate father. This was the last time they'd ever meet again, and he wanted to cherish this moment. Bruce embraced his surrogate son, proud of what he and the Titans managed to pull off.

"Goodbye son," Batman replied as he let go and made his way towards the Bat-Signal. There, he took off his cowl, throwing it to Starfire as a memento, since Dick would want it for keepsakes. Then he looked out and informed Commissioner Gordon via comm. link that Gotham City was safe, and after saying their goodbyes, the Batwing appeared, the Batmobile underneath it. Bruce then grappled up inside and flew away as the Bat Signal activated the self destruct mechanism.

"Goodbye dad," Dick said as he watched the Batwing fly off silently into the night. Starfire held him in her arms as she knew he needed some alone time.

"Let us go home," she said, "To your home." By this of course, Dick knew she meant his apartment back in Blüdhaven. She knew that was where he'd want to be with her after a long night.

"Yeah, let's," he told her, then he turned to the other Titans, "Guys, tomorrow, could you possibly help me move out of my apartment? I'm coming back to the Tower for good this time." The Titans only smiled at the notion.

"You got it, Dick," said Roy, placing a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Just make sure you and Kori don't rush the wedding plans."

"I'll get the T-Jet ready as soon as everything's gone," said Cyborg, "Just say the word and y'all can get first class seats." The T-Jet was what the Titans used when travelling on missions all over the world. Cyborg designed it himself, so as to ease the burden of those Titans who could fly without having to exhaust themselves over long distances.

"Just don't forget, we've still got that party tomorrow," said Donna, "You two are technically considered the guests of honor now." She couldn't wait to see how all the Titans would react when Nightwing and Starfire announced their wedding. Their ranks had swollen since the two of them left.

"I cannot wait for such excitement!" Starfire exclaimed, as she picked Nightwing up in her arms, "Farewell for now, my friends, Robin and I shall see you all tomorrow!" Then she flew off across the Gotham River with her fiancee, while the other Titans stayed a while longer, until the happy couple faded from view. They could hear police sirens from the parking garage below, as Gordon was back.

"All units, be advised," Commissioner Gordon told the other cops, "The major threats have been neutralized. Let's roll out and take our city back!" Dozens of police cars and SWAT team trucks rolled out from the garage, ready to take back Gotham. The city was saved, and would thrive once again, but at a hefty price.

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A/N: Phew! This chapter really was a tough one to crank out. Still, I went all out for this one. I hope you guys liked the reference I made to Rose Wilson, AKA Ravager. So, we're done with the major battles now! All that's left now are the last two chapters and the epilogue. Please let me know what you think. Leave a review, favorite and follow, and stay tuned for the conclusion! :)


	18. Chapter 18: The Perfect Evening

Nightwing: Arkham Knight

 **DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING! ALL CHARACTERS BELONG TO DC COMICS. _BATMAN: ARKHAM_ BELONGS TO DC ENTERTAINMENT, WB ENTERTAINMENT, AND ROCKSTEADY GAMES. BATMAN BELONGS TO DC COMICS, BOB KANE AND BILL FINGER. NIGHTWING AND STARFIRE BELONG TO DC COMICS, MARV WOLFMAN AND GEORGE PÉREZ.**

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Chapter 18: The Perfect Evening

As they flew back to Blüdhaven, Starfire could tell easily why her fiancee liked it so much here. It was much more relaxed than the chaotic and metropolitan vibe of Gotham, but still retained some of its attractions on a much smaller scale. On their way flying over the city, she and Nightwing could hear the people cheering them and chanting their names, celebrating them as their heroes and the saviors of Gotham. They were all so proud to be host for the leader of the Titans, as many of the news channels also were the same as for Gotham, so Jack Ryder's broadcast reached here as well.

"It appears that we have received the welcome of heroes," said Starfire as she looked deeply into the eyes of her future husband. This evening was unlike no other for her. She'd finally reunited with the man of her dreams, her teenage sweetheart, and now they were getting married.

"Nothing wrong with that, babe," said Nightwing as he held on tightly. He wasn't one for shying away from the spotlight. Nobody here knew his secret identity except for the other members of the Run-Offs. They could see Orca swimming across the bay, back to her lab. They were definitely going to send her an invitation for her help tonight. As they continued to fly over, Dick told Kori about his interesting neighbors, such as Hank Hogan, John Law, Amygdala and Bridget Clancy, his old landlady. "I'll introduce you to them as we get moved out," he told her, knowing they'd have to use secret identities. For now though, they just wanted a bit of peace and quiet. "Okay Star, we're almost home. Just look for 1013, Parkthorne Avenue."

"Which of the apartments do you live in, Robin?" She asked, trying not to be distracted by the nightlife of the city below.

"I'm on the 5th floor," he told her, explaining that he originally was a tenant, but after the earthquake that hit Gotham a few years ago, Bruce bought the building after it was labeled "condemned", appointing Dick as the landlord. Though Dick pitched in a portion of his own wealth, from his inheritance given to him by Haly's Circus: an insurance settlement from when his parents died. Kori was delighted to hear how her future husband was helping out in the neighborhood, it was like how he helped Mr. Freeze and Nora earlier tonight.

"I cannot wait to see your home," Kori told him, "On my planet, my people would have gossiped. So it is fortunate that we live here!" They soon arrived at the apartment building, made out by the red brick facade and the fact that Dick had a window open to make it seem like he was home. Earlier, before going over to Gotham, he was on duty for the local kids who lived in the different floors, out trick-or-treating. Yet by now, most had probably gone home with their bags packed to the brim with candy. As they flew inside, Nightwing closed the window to let the place heat up. It was a bitterly cold night, with snow just beginning to fall. Dick then turned on the lights, allowing Starfire to see the inside of the main living room.

"Welcome to my place, Starfire," said Nightwing as he led her around, "It's a bit small, but still roomier than the apartments in New York, huh?" Dick knew from living in Manhattan when he visited Roy that the apartments there were tiny. Indeed, just trying to move around in one of those places was nearly impossible. Luckily, Blüdhaven's apartments were much more spacious and bigger, allowing easier access to move around, like with other apartments in the rest of the U.S. The living room was definitely big, and the place was neat and well organized. Dick learned a lot of life lessons from living in Titans Tower, but also he picked up a lot of recipes from Alfred for when he would live on his own. The living room was in the same space as the dining room and kitchen, albeit bigger than in New York apartments. Facing the sofa was a plasma screen TV on a stand. In front of it was a small coffee table on which sat a bowl that had an assortment of Halloween candy bars.

"It is truly glorious!" She exclaimed, enthralled by the fact that she was in her fiancee's apartment. They definitely were going to have some fun tonight. Before she could continue, however, one of her 9 stomachs began to growl. Tamaraneans had 9 of them to survive during periods of intense starvation. Or, in case one of them was infected, there were 8 more to act as replacements. "Forgive me, I have not eaten since I have left for Gotham," she said, blushing as she fidgeted her fingers.

"It's okay honey, I got just the thing for you," Nightwing replied as he went over to the fridge to get something. He then shouted, "Catch!" And he then threw her a bottle of yellow mustard. Starfire loved mustard ever since she was a teenage girl, not only as a condiment, but she was known to drink it as well.

As they got settled in, Dick cooked up two Japanese style rice omelets as they both snuggled up as they ate. Kori immediately doused her portion with mustard after her first bite. Back at Titans Tower, she was known to use it with everything she ate, including pizza.

"Firm on the outside, yet it still melts within my mouth, just like the incinerated glorka roaches on my home world!" She complimented, enjoying the texture. Starfire got a taste for Japanese food firsthand after having lived on the West Coast for so long. Jump City was heavily steeped in Spanish, American and Japanese cultures, so it was no surprise that a lot of traditions from those cultures were found, such as observance of some Japanese holidays, particularly on New Year's. They both decided not to watch the news, but instead just watch a few monster films like _Slither_ and _Tremors_. He knew what Bruce wanted, and had already said his goodbyes. Now, all he wanted was to be alone with his fiancée. After a while, and once Kori was terrified enough from watching Tremors, Nightwing turned off the TV and caressed her cheek.

"So, shall we make for the bedroom?" He asked, with that very seductive, charming look on his face that she couldn't resist. Starfire looked at her fiancee with her big green eyes, unable to resist. She wanted him after so long.

"Very well," she replied, holding Nightwing by the hand as he led her in. The bedroom was small, but cozy. It had a four poster bed that was an exact replica of the one he slept in as a little boy in Wayne Manor, but made to a king size for the two of them. Dick knew how much Kori was enamored by the refinery of Wayne Manor, so here was where he wanted to replicate that on a smaller scale for a city apartment. On the wall was the poster for Haly's Circus promoting the Flying Graysons, now placed in a frame. Yet there were also framed photos on the walls from various points in Dick's life, from his first debut as Robin alongside Batman, to one of himself at age 15, with the other founding Teen Titans, to one of him and Starfire when he became Nightwing for the first time.

"I kept them when I was getting set in," he said as he saw the look on her face, the excitement and the happiness, especially of the photo he had of the two of them.

"What shall I do about my clothes?" She asked, giggling as she locked eyes and grinned at him, "Shall I remove them on my own, or perhaps you would wish to remove them for me, yes~?" However, Dick only kissed her deeply and passionately, he didn't even notice that as she returned it, she began to remove his utility belt, followed by his boots, and then the rest of his costume. Yet she didn't remove his mask. That was an unbroken rule the Titans established shortly after the Judas Contract. After what happened with Terra, they decided it wasn't a good idea to reveal secret identities to new members.

Yet Dick just held her tightly in his arms as he pressed his naked body against her. Starfire blushed as she looked at her fiancee, at first a bit surprised at this behavior. Deep down, she was nervous about having sex with him again after their time apart. "R-Robin?" She asked, concerned, but after a while, she got used to feeling his naked body again and accepted his hug. They turned off the lights and before long, Nightwing kissed his future wife deeply and passionately, lying down on the bed with her, wrapping his left arm around her shoulder, and placing his right hand on her breast. Starfire only held it there with her own hand, enjoying this feeling, of their bodies pressing together and their tongues wrestling into the kiss.

Nightwing then unlatched Starfire's gorget and took off her armband and bracers before he let the straps covering her front peel off as he then helped her take off her boots. Kori only laid down on their bed, happy as she knew this was it, one of those nights she dreamed of while on Tamaran. Softly, Dick held her ear with his finger and thumb, rubbing it softly before he leaned in closer, placing his hand on her breast as he playfully nibbled on the ear. Kori only moaned at the feeling of such pleasure coursing through her. Then he began flicking her nipple with his tongue before sucking it briefly as he groped her other breast and began licking down her waist. Instinctively, she lifted her hips as he took off her outfit, and she lay on the bed with him naked. She had no pubic hair as well, mainly because she was delicate about waxing down there.

Dick began to finger and kiss her avidly, enjoying every second. Kori hadn't felt such intense pleasure since those times they did it as teenagers, when they had the night off and when she was in the mood for it. Then as they broke the kiss, he leaned in and began to playfully nibble that area, pressing her clitoris softly with his thumb.

"Oh wow, you're already wet, huh?" He asked as he saw her juices dripping out of her.

"I...I cannot help it~" she moaned out, her nether regions were already wet from the intense pleasure, "I wish to have you inside of me~." When it came to pleasing women in the bedroom, Dick was a bit of an expert. He had so many man to man talks with Bruce on the matter, since he was always such a hit with the ladies. Even Huntress gave him a few pointers on the topic. So now he was using that knowledge to good use. "Robin~! Robin~!" Starfire moaned as she looked down at her fiancée, who only looked up back at her. "I believe it is only right that I return the favor," she said as she recovered from the intensity of her future husband's pleasuring. Nightwing's member was already hard and protruding, and she didn't want to let him be the only one not having fun.

"Okay," he replied, chuckling as he smiled back at her. Dick laid down onto the bed as he watched his future wife crawl towards him on all fours towards him. She could see his member standing tall and proud. "Alright, do your magic," he told her. As she nodded her head, Kori reached down and wrapped her fingers gently around her future husband's cock, then she opened her mouth and began sucking on it as she moved her head up and down, gently caressing his shaft with her long tongue. Dick gritted his teeth as he felt her free hand caressing his hardened body, even going down to grope his ass. All women agreed that Nightwing was easily recognizable by it, something he wasn't proud of. Yet he didn't mind that Starfire paid attention to it as she pleased him. He could feel the pressure rising within. He was just about ready to climax. "Whoa, Star! Hold on!" He told her, trying to calm himself down. As she removed her mouth from the shaft she could see clear liquid slowly flowing down from the tip. She knew what that meant.

"You are ready then, yes?" She asked as she giggled, seeing him nod with a strained look of pleasure in his face. "Very well, then perhaps it is time." She lay down on her back and spread her legs open for him. "Robin, come inside of me," she said, beckoning him to penetrate her, smiling softly at the man she was going to marry. Nightwing held her tightly as they kissed avidly with such passion. Then he slowly and gently inserted his cock inside her, causing her to gasp as she moaned loudly in ecstatic glory; she even began to drool down the side of her mouth.

"You haven't changed...you're still tight as I remember," said Nightwing, struggling to form words as he felt her inner walls clamping around his cock as he penetrated her. Her moans of pleasure echoed throughout the bedroom as she looked up at her future husband and then wrapped her legs around his hips, locking him in so he couldn't escape. She looked up at him, smiling as despite the fact it was cold outside, it felt so warm in the bedroom. "Kori...you cold?" He asked as he continued to thrust.

"I am okay~. I can feel your heat warming me up~!" She moaned as she gradually felt him pick up the pace and intensity. Her walls began to clamp around his cock, as she felt herself getting damper and more of her juices began dripping out. "Robin...I wish to have your seed within me~!" She begged as she looked up at him longingly. She'd waited a long time for this moment, and tonight it seemed it was finally coming true. Of course, Tamaraneans had all sorts of different positions that were virtually unknown and weirder than those listed in the Kama Sutra, and some even involved flying and spinning, but tonight, all they both wanted was to make love, plain and simple. She then sat up as they kissed each other, his hand holding onto her by her voluptuous ass as she bucked her hips in tandem with each thrust. Starfire laid back down on her back as Nightwing thrust as hard and as fast as he could. "Robin~! Robin~!" She moaned out, almost to the point of screaming, "I cannot hold it anymore~!"

"Me too!" Nightwing groaned out as they both finally felt each other climax. Starfire held her future husband tightly as she let out a scream of pure pleasure. With a smile and sigh of relief, she felt her tears of pleasure stream down her face. Nightwing bit his lower lip as he closed his eyes, holding onto Kori just as tightly while he unloaded his seed inside of her. Yet it didn't take long for the two to collapse onto the bed, breathless. It was definitely the best way to end such an eventful Halloween. Scarecrow and his goons were defeated, Trigon's followers were scattered to the winds and Deathstroke called off the H.I.V.E. contract. Yet it was mixed with the bitterness of Batman's unmasking. For now, though, all that mattered to the two of them was that they saved Gotham; the police could handle things from there, and they could finally enjoy each other.

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A/N: Phew! So sorry for the delay. It took me a while to write this scene, as I was definitely having trouble with coming up with what Dick and Kori would get up to. So I had to just make things up on the fly, which is a bit hard for me.


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